


CardCaptor Fai

by Kien Rugastelo (cein)



Category: Cardcaptor Sakura, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Attempted Vehicular Card-Slaughter, Canonical Character Death, Ceres Country, Memory Loss, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:54:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 31,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26352220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cein/pseuds/Kien%20Rugastelo
Summary: When Fai finds a mysterious key on Celes’ shores, it is nothing more than an intriguing mystery until suspicious events begin to unfold months later. Between trying to keep the incidents a secret from Ashura and the strange man from a foreign land who seems determined to get in his way, Fai struggles to understand why these things are happening, and if they may have some connection to his unremembered past.Spoilers for CCS first 3 seasons and movies. Clear Card Arc is not spoiled. General spoilers for all of TRC.
Relationships: Fay D. Fluorite & Kurogane
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 0 - The Fool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story will parallel the events of Cardcaptor Sakura (anime version) in many ways, though it will diverge in others. I found it easiest to keep everything straight by following the card collection order as presented in the anime. We won’t hit every card in the story, but they all exist for the purposes of the story. If you have not watched Cardcaptor Sakura thru both movies, you may be spoiled a bit by this story.

Year 2000

Ashura was not yet so far gone that he could not admit to a misstep. His charge had been closer to the boy bleeding out before them than he had originally thought, and it was much too soon for Fai to discover the truth about him. Fai wasn’t yet powerful enough to topple him — even with all the love Ashura held for him, Ashura’s instincts would kick in and he would defend himself and Fai would die.

That was unacceptable.

Fai was doing his best. He’d accumulated all the cards but one, even with his yet meager abilities, but they were all discarded now along with his flourite staff in favor of sobbing as he pressed his jacket into Kurogane’s wound, hoping to keep the precious blood inside where it belonged. Secretly, Ashura was a little proud that Fai knew to do so when he was yet only 10.

That was another reason it was too soon — Fai’s mind wasn’t equipped to handle this turn of events. He couldn’t process fully that Ashura would do this, that Ashura wasn’t someone to be trusted. So when Ashura stepped forward and placed his clean hand on Fai’s shoulder, Fai did not flinch away, even as Kurogane croaked out a quiet warning. No, Fai instead turned hopeful eyes his way, pleading eyes that begged Ashura to fix all of this somehow.

“What will you do now, Fai?” Ashura asked, voice smooth and soothing, a vague smile across his features.

Fai sniffed as he shook his head emphatically, desperately. “I don’t know. I don’t — I don’t want him to die,” he started, unsteady and rough from crying, and Ashura could feel Fai’s magic accumulating unbidden, preparing to respond to Fai’s wish even though Fai was not conscious of wielding his will so. Fai clutched Kurogane tighter, and the final card that Ashura held shone brightly within him along with all the cards scattered on the ground. “I don’t want Kurogane to die!”

There was a sound like a chime, and unbeknown to Ashura, everything stopped.

* * *

In the next breath, Kurogane could see that everything outside himself and Fai was frozen. He’d seen it before when he had used Time to help them, but something about it seemed wrong this time around. Fai’s eyes had never been so vacant before, and the cards had never lifted themselves into the air before, hanging around Fai’s body looking much like ornaments suspended from a tree.

One by one, each card dissolved before him, and he knew — somehow Kurogane knew what was happening, and he reached out weakly. “No,” he managed around the still-consuming pain, one that was slowly replacing the disappearing wounds of his body. “No, this is too cruel.”

But the forces that held the world together had no concept of cruelty and justice, and so as lights like shooting stars flung themselves away from Fai’s still form and his staff reverted to a key once again, Kurogane found he didn’t recognize the boy before him anymore right before his world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/628658671952527360/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-1-kien-rugastelo-cein)


	2. The Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace of Wands

Year 2016

On nights like these, Fai didn’t really understand why Celes was becoming a ghost town. Between himself and Ashura, they were powerful enough to protect the citizens from any possible threats, and Ashura was a kind, fair ruler besides. In the years since Ashura had found him on the beach, 10 years old with no memories whatsoever, they had not only shored up the infrastructure and chased away the beasts that had once threatened the valleys, but they had improved the quality of life so much that Celes should have been the envy of the world.

Even the weather was gorgeous, Fai mused, looking out from one of the castle’s windows overlooking the beach. It was cool but not unpleasantly so, and the breeze carried the scent of the ocean into his rooms. Below, the waters were crystal clear and calm, lapping at fine white sand, and above the crescent moon was just kissing the horizon, only barely washing out the skies above with its light. Celes really was perfect in Fai’s opinion, he thought as he sipped the wine that had gotten him so introspective that evening. So why did it seem like people were fleeing?

A voice caught his attention below, sweet, high, and gentle on the breeze. It just barely registered to his ears and he couldn’t make out the words, but it pitched up and down, notes both long and short in song. The melody was haunting and familiar, but Fai couldn’t place it, though he was sure if he got close enough to hear the words, he would surely remember. So when he spotted a young, dark-haired girl dancing further down the beach, one he couldn’t recall seeing before, Fai gathered up some of his magic to make a breeze, bringing himself from his window high above to the sands below.

He lost sight of the girl as he landed, her form disappearing behind a dune, but Fai hadn’t wanted to startle her by floating down from the sky so close. Instead, he walked unhurriedly, following the melody as he scaled the dune with ease, but as his head broke over the rise of it, the melody stopped and the girl was nowhere to be seen.

A little worried she may have fallen into the sea, though these parts of their shores were shallow, he sprinted the rest of the way over the hill and down to the beach, but he couldn’t see a trace of her, not even footprints in the sand. Perhaps she had been a ghost, Fai wondered, though he had never seen one before, and as his eyes scanned the area once again, a light in the waters caught his attention, something shining in the water.

Maybe the girl had been a spirit attached to whatever it was, Fai thought, and he waded into the water to retrieve it. The waters were nearly still, lapping at his ankles when he stooped down to find a necklace. It was a simple thing, just a cord attached to an ornate key of silver and blue, but something about it seemed familiar, and when he reached out to touch the key — 

_ Two voices shouting, indistinct, overlapping. Children’s voices, too young to be so angry, so frightened. Flashes of scenes. Monsters, attacks, magic. Running. Standing. Fighting. Rage. Joy. Sorrow. A calling, a calling a calling _

_ A calling _

By the time Fai managed to release his grip from the key, he was panting in exertion. There was no life in this key, only an item of some form of power, and yet inside it held memories of some kind. Fai could scarcely believe he had been swept into them so easily, that he hadn’t so much as detected any magic within the item and that it could overwhelm him so.

Just as he was about to touch it again, more cautiously, better prepared, that sweet voice sounded from behind him, laughing, and Fai whipped around, the girl he had been seeking having slipped his mind completely up until just then. Shoving the key in his pocket, Fai ran back over the hill to find himself alone again, barefoot on a beach with no people, the cuffs of his pants soaked in seawater.

Idly, Fai touched the pocket holding the key as he wondered at what exactly was happening in Celes.

* * *

The key seemed immune to scrutiny in the following days. Nothing Fai did to it seemed to incline it to reveal its truth to him, and even when he had worked up the courage to touch it again, it had been inert, unwilling to show him those brief flashes twice.

Something in Fai’s gut told him not to reveal the key to Ashura just yet, and it was kind of nice, having a mystery all of his own to solve. Up until now, he and Ashura had worked together to solve everything they had come across, but Fai was 27 now, and Ashura was aging. Eventually, it would be up to Fai to work alone, and he would have to learn how to someday. A small mystery of no apparent import seemed to be a good place to start.

After a week, though, Fai had to admit he was stumped, that maybe he had imagined the surreal scene on the beach. If there was a secret, though, he believed it would reveal itself in time, so he wore the necklace around his neck, under his clothes. If the key wanted to speak again, it would in due time. Until then, he would keep it close and let it reveal itself when it was ready.

* * *

Year 2017

It wasn’t an unordinary day by his standards at all. Fai and Ashura were each seated on their respective thrones attending to matters of state. Most of them were simple matters: petty disputes, requests for provisions to offset shortages, petitions from lands across their borders. A representative from a village to the south had come to request aid, and something of his tale caught Fai’s ear. A demon wind had come down from the mountains and had been wreaking havoc in the town, tearing up fields and damaging buildings. Injuries had been minor so far, but there were fears that it would become stronger and eventually kill someone.

Fai smiled and went with his gut. “I think I can handle that,” he stated breezily.

“Oh?” Ashura returned with some amusement, “Not ‘We’?”

Fai rose easily, waving a hand in a somewhat dismissive manner despite the nervousness he held behind his mask. He and Ashura had always tackled such things together, but something whispered in Fai’s heart, telling him he ought to solve this on his own. “I think I should be enough for a little ol’ wind. No need to send the both of us out there.”

Fai could feel Ashura’s scrutiny and wondered briefly if he was behaving suspiciously when he thought he could see something flash behind Ashura’s eyes. It was gone in a moment, though, and Ashura relaxed even further back into his throne. “I suppose it is time for you to leave the nest, young Fai. I have faith you will resolve the matter swiftly and without incident.”

Fai’s bow then was low and sweeping, but most importantly, it allowed his face to be hidden just then against any flaws there still may have been in his mask. “I will not fail you, my King.”

* * *

The journey to the village had taken the better part of a day, but when Fai arrived the weather was calm, the air almost unnaturally still. The representative that had escorted him joked that perhaps the wind had caught word of Fai’s arrival and fled.

Fai suspected that wouldn’t be too far from the truth.

There was nothing to do, though, but wait and see if the wind would return, so Fai settled in at the local pub, ready to sample what brews the village had to offer. The bartender selected a mead and set it before him, declaring it to be on the house, but Fai would have none of that. “Absolutely not,” Fai refused with a laugh as he plucked up the tankard. “Bill the palace at the end of my stay and we’ll reimburse you. Our affairs are not so dire that I can’t properly pay my tab.”

It was as if the declaration had released any lingering tension in the air, and where just before the people had been giving Fai a wide berth, some of the more daring (and already intoxicated) individuals drew closer to regale Fai with tales and rumors they’d heard. It wasn’t an altogether unfamiliar situation for Fai — he was the crown prince, and that fact tended to make people nervous around him, at first. He’d learned, though, that a well-placed smile here, a show of his humanity there, and he could be accepted into nearly any fold when he had been held on a pedestal before.

Seeing the prince in an open state of tipsiness tended to put the people at ease as well, and Fai was very much unopposed to engaging in such a way.

It might have been hours that he lingered there, drinking and joking and laughing with the people to the point that they had drawn a crowd — people who had not been at the pub that evening, and perhaps only rarely patronized it, gathering in an easy revelry that Fai found himself swept up in. It was nice to feel like just another person, for a while, distanced from his own royal heritage.

“You know what — you know what this reminds me of?” one man asked the crown at large, red-faced from drink and slurring over his words. “It’s been, what, almost twenty years since the last time the prince defeated the demon wind?”

Fai’s breath caught in his throat and he froze with his drink nearly to his lips. This wasn’t something he had heard of before.

“Right, right!” another person cut in, some of her drink sloshing over her glass as she swung her arm around. “You know I almost forgot about that?”

“He was so young then! And still so powerful — amazing. Couldn’t believe my eyes!”

“Wait,” Fai asked, gathering himself enough to put a hand on the first man’s shoulder, “I’ve done this before?”

He didn’t have a chance to hear the answer as just then a gust burst through the windows, sending glass everywhere as it forced its way past the panes, and Fai chased the gale outside after only a moment to gather himself from where he had instinctively blocked the shards. The wind whipped about, throwing up dirt and some of the lighter objects laying around as it spun on itself in a miniature tornado, and Fai wrote in the air, sending a sealing spell its way, only for it to be rebuffed with seemingly no effort at all.

At that moment, Fai hesitated, eyes wide in disbelief. That spell usually worked, and he had never seen it fail against an elemental entity before. It should have wrapped around the wind, packaging it neatly for Fai to dispose of properly, and yet — 

The wind caught the cord of his necklace, and Fai grasped at the key when it floated into his vision, worried that it might be torn away in the gale, and the feeling of the key was hot in his hands for the brief second he stayed in control.

Then, it was as if something had pushed him to the back of his mind, and he felt as though he was watching himself from a distance. Fai struggled against the sensation, knowing full well the dangers associated with possession, especially at his own level of power, but nothing he tried seemed to do any good. The hand holding the key moved until it was central to his body before opening up, allowing the key to hover just above his palm.

With a start, Fai realized he could hear his own voice, dull against the wind.  _ “Key that hides the forces of darkness, show me your true form! By the covenant, I, Yuui, command you. Release!” _

The key lengthened slowly, revealing a silver staff with blue stones dangling near the top, and Fai was left feeling powerless as whatever force was puppeteering his body grasped it firmly. Who was Yuui? Was it some spirit in the key? Why was it doing this now? How had it taken control over him so easily? He didn’t understand, and it felt as though the harder he tried to push himself back to the front, the further away control of his own body moved. Dimly, he found his voice was speaking again, wielding the staff against the winds.  _ “Return to the form which you were meant to be, Clow Card!” _

The staff pitched forward sharply, and before Fai’s eyes, the wind was drawn into the shape of a card, and it was only when that form solidified and started to fly his way that the staff returned to the shape of a key, and Fai was back in control of his own body so suddenly that he collapsed onto his hands and knees from the suddenness of it, leaving Fai panting in the dirt. As he snatched up the card, the villagers rushed forward in celebration, praising him for a job well done.

Fai allowed it, knowing it wouldn’t do to show that the matter had been entirely outside of his own control. If nothing else, he had to maintain the peoples’ faith in Ashura and himself, so he smiled in triumph and allowed himself to be swept away in their cheers not knowing that all the while, a pair of red eyes were scrutinizing the entire scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/628658979134947328/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-2-kien-rugastelo-cein)


	3. The Fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 2 of Pentacles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to establish ages, Fai is now 28, Kurogane is 27, and Tomoyo is 14 at this point. Ashura is of undetermined age, probably around 50.

To say that Kurogane was displeased would be an understatement, and he made it known as he stormed into their shared room at the inn in a fit of temper. “Just how much have you been slacking, Tomoyo?”

Tomoyo only giggled from her seat at the table, tea already at the ready. “I can assure you, I’ve been quite busy, cousin.”

Kurogane doubted that, and he sent a finger her way in accusation. “You’ve been here six months — six months! — and you haven’t captured a single card!”

“Cousin — ” Tomoyo cut in, ever calm.

Kurogane just continued on his rant, throwing his cloak onto the bed in a snit. “And now that damn prince of all people has the staff and who knows how many cards, and — !”

“ _ Cousin, _ ” Tomoyo tried again, just a little more forcefully, taking up one of Kurogane’s hands and patting it serenely. “Do you trust your mother?”

“Yes,” Kurogane admitted at length, not because that was in doubt, but because he knew Tomoyo, and he knew she was walking him into a trap of some kind, using nothing but her words against him.

“And you trust my sister?” she asked as Kurogane plopped down into the chair across from her, hand still in both of hers.

“Yes,” he acknowledged, with an exasperated roll of his eyes, though whether he liked Kendappa or not was a completely separate matter.

“Then have faith that we have everything under control,” she advised, releasing Kurogane’s hand in favor of taking a sip of her tea. Kurogane hated how easily she was able to take all of this in stride, but maybe that was because she hadn’t been born yet for the previous debacle. 18 years ago, he had been sent here with the same mission he had now: find the Clow Cards and capture them so they would not bring harm to the people. He couldn’t remember exactly what had happened then, but he had failed, though not catastrophically so. The cards had been sealed, or at least made dormant, and Kurogane had returned home in shame, back then.

Six months ago, Kendappa had had a vision and had sent Tomoyo ahead to confirm if the dream had been true. It was only two weeks ago that Tomoyo had been able to prove that the cards were becoming active again and to send for Kurogane to join her. And now, just when Kurogane had been on the precipice of capturing a rogue card, sealing staff or no, that blasted prince had to step in, with the damn staff, and throw a wrench in their plans.

Or so he thought. Tomoyo seemed to have a different opinion. If she was hiding important information from him, Kurogane was of a mind to wring her neck. For now, Kurogane rested his cheek on a fist, considering what options they still had. “What do we do about the prince?”

“Nothing, for now,” Tomoyo declared, voice just short of making an order of it, despite being half his age. “We will proceed as planned until ordered to do otherwise.”

Kurogane didn’t like it, but how he felt didn’t matter in this situation. He would collect and seal the cards, and if the prince proved himself to be a threat, Kurogane would destroy him. He would not return a failure again.

* * *

The next week was a lesson in frustration for Fai. He began his research anew, but nothing in the castle’s vast archives had any information on Clow Cards, or a magic key, or of the elusive Yuui. Nothing in the hall of records had any information on previous attacks by a demon wind, much less any of Fai’s own involvement against such, or any other incidents prior to being found empty of everything all those years ago.

It wasn’t as though either the library nor the records were not expansive — the library itself was the envy of neighboring nations for its breadth and wealth of information — that Fai would find absolutely nothing on any subject of his search didn’t make any sense.

Still, Fai wasn’t entirely empty-handed. He retained his memory of capturing the card, and the rituals he’d participated in in the act of doing so. He also wasn’t wholly unfamiliar with the concepts of them — will and whim carried on words to become binding forces through a conduit. In fact, he was well-versed in the theory behind them. He wasn’t completely blind and helpless, being a magician more accomplished than any he’d ever known — barring Ashura himself.

That it had never occurred to Fai to involve Ashura in the search at all would be a fact that would evade him for some time yet.

* * *

_ The wind was strong, but so had been Fai, though these hands he had were much smaller than the ones he had now. He used the same words, wielded the same staff, met with the same results, but small things were different. Where it was nearly summer now, this dream had him surrounded by snow. Where he had fought alone before, the Fai in his dream could feel someone at his side — someone he didn’t see, someone who was calling out, voice unclear. A single syllable. A name. _

Fai awoke in an instant, not startled but no less confused, and with the Windy card clutched in his fingers, though he had left it in the drawer the night before.

He didn’t understand, but he intended to, and he would keep searching until he found his answers.

* * *

This time, it had been a great bird, soaring across the skies, mostly harmless except for the sheer amount of food it consumed, threatening to cut dangerously into their stores when the harvest the previous year had already been weak. Once again, Fai faced it alone. Once again, his spells bounced off the beast like pebbles against a wall.

Once again, the key burned, and Fai took a chance.

“Key that hides the forces of darkness, show me your true form! By the covenant, I, Fai, command you. Release!”

Nothing happened.

The key remained dormant, and the great bird flapped its wings, sending Fai backwards with a yelp against the ground through the wind it generated. That couldn’t be right, the key had responded to those words before. Surely, it would do so with Fai in command of his faculties. Nothing had changed.

Except, he realized, the name. Gathering himself, Fai tried again: “Key that hides the forces of darkness, show me your true form! By the covenant, I, _Yuui_ , command you. Release!” That seemed to be the difference, and once again the key was expanding into a staff, and Fai rushed forward, ready to end the encounter with the next spell: “Return to the form which you were meant to — !”

The beast flapped again, sending Fai backwards once again before it dove his way, and Fai just barely managed to scramble out of its path before it struck down at where he had been lying moments before. He grimaced, staying out of sight for the moment while he thought through the situation. None of his spells had worked against the damn thing, and it wasn’t going to leave him alone long enough to seal it. The bird had allowed him to cast spell after spell its direction, but had retaliated when he attempted to seal it, which meant the staff, at least, was a threat.

And if the staff was a threat, Fai realized, then perhaps something that had been captured with the staff would also be a threat. Fai reached into his pocket and produced the card he had captured a scant week before, deciding to use it as he had tried to use the bare wind minutes ago. “Card of wind, become a binding chain!” and he thrust the card ahead, bringing the staff forward to meet it before finalizing the command with its name: “Windy!”

The wind gusted forward, and just as Fai had hoped, it wrapped around the bird, forcing it to land and holding it in place. Taking his chance, Fai rushed to meet it, taking one more shot at the sealing spell. “Return to the form which you were meant to be, Clow Card!”

Just as before, the form of the bird broke up, manifesting into the shape of a card before coming Fai’s way, landing easily in his waiting hand. With a dismissive wave, he released his spell over the staff, reducing it in form back to a key. “The Fly,” he read aloud, studying the card for any hints he may have missed on the previous one — any clue that could help him understand just what was going on — but there was nothing there that he could see.

Needing rest, he gave up for the night and began the trek back to the castle, deciding any more research could wait until morning.

* * *

Morning had Fai laying back on the bed, dangling the necklace with the key in front of him as he considered it. Using it to capture the wind could have been considered an isolated incident. Using it twice now had to be more than a coincidence. Would there be more cards to seal? Were there any other forms of magic that would work against them? Having to rely on unfamiliar magic made him feel like he was being manipulated in some way, like someone was backing him into a corner to see him lash out. To what end was he being pushed?

“Why do you respond to ‘Yuui’, but not ‘Fai’?” he asked it mildly, half hoping that it would send him the answer if he only asked, but the key clarified nothing for him. It all set him on edge, but for now, there was nothing else he could do but keep his people safe. Eventually, all truths would emerge into the light, but right now..

Right now, Fai could protect what was his and hope whatever was orchestrating these grand events was not a malicious force.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/628819541342961664/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-3-kien-rugastelo-cein)


	4. The Thunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3 of Pentacles

“Return to the form which you were meant to be, Clow Card!”

Fai was vaguely surprised to see it work, considering the staff was not touching the body of the card itself. He tucked the memory away with The Silent, glad to know he could use The Shadow in such a way, only for the feeling to be chased away by the sensation of eyes on him.

He pivoted, darting in the direction he thought he had felt those eyes coming from, but when he reached the alley, a dead end, it was empty of any human life, not for the first time. With a quick motion, Fai dismissed the staff back into the shape of a key, staying alert even as he did so.

The last few incidents, the feeling of eyes had become ever stronger, and it was no longer something he could afford to ignore.

* * *

“Windy, Fly, Shadow, Watery, Rain, Wood, Jump, Illusion, Silent,” Fai recited one by one as he placed the cards before him before finally grasping the cord around the key and removing it from his neck, placing it down by the cards, “And the staff.” Aside from the staff, all had been collected in just over a month, and Fai was still short on answers. As he had done before, he held his hand above the collection. “Items of magic, reveal your truths. Show to me your nature and origin.”

A faint glow passed from his hand to the cards in turn and finally to the staff before fading out of existence, but as every other time, nothing became clear to Fai. It was frustrating at best. Surely by now he must have gathered enough of them to be able to read through their magic. Either there were still a great many left, or whoever was releasing them was significantly more powerful than Fai himself was. He wasn’t sure he liked either option.

Resigned, he gathered the cards back up again, slipping them into a velvet pouch before bringing the cord back around his neck. Even the internet hadn’t seemed to hold any information for him. At this point, Fai was willing to accept rumors as plausible fact, but there had been nothing. It was as if the cards and the staff existed in an unbreachable void.

And then there was the growing sensation of eyes, watching him from somewhere that Fai had been unable to trace.

Maybe, he considered, it was time to bring Ashura in on the situation.

Fai liked to trust his gut, and when his instincts told him that he should try to solve this himself, he was quick to agree, but after such a long period, with magic so powerful and causing such trouble, surely there had to be a point in which he involved the king. Still, he hesitated to do so, not entirely sure why. He’d always been able to be honest with Ashura, and the man had never given him any reason why he shouldn’t. So why did the very idea inspire such anxiety in him? Was it a fear that it meant a failure on his part? Was it the influence of these cards — and if so, could that influence be trusted? Or perhaps it was something else, something like the villagers remembering him conquering such a wind before when Fai’s mind had no recollection of the events?

As a storm gathered outside, Fai continued mulling all of this over, hoping that an answer would come to him if he just thought hard enough, until the key again grew hot against his chest.

* * *

“I’ve had enough,” Kurogane declared suddenly, after what had felt like hours monitoring Fai's actions together with Tomoyo, gathering himself to march outside and take matters into his own hands.

“Had enough of what?” Tomoyo asked as she watched Kurogane march toward the door.

Kurogane thought she was playing dense on purpose to rile him up. “Of waiting around while that damn prince collects all the cards.”

Tomoyo remained seated where she was, looking regal much like a princess in her own right. “We’ve been advised to observe,” she pointed out, knowing that what they’d been told to do no longer mattered once Kurogane’s mind was made up.

“I’m not going to sit by and let that guy gather them up and do who-knows-what with them,” he shot back, visibly trying to keep a hold of his temper. Tomoyo was just the messenger; his mother and Kendappa were the ones issuing the orders. “Enough is enough.”

Tomoyo knew better than to intervene, especially when this had been something she had foreseen. Kurogane’s offensive powers far outweighed her own, and she had no desire to fight him besides. Still, there were other forms of magic she could wield with only words: “Be safe.”

Kurogane nodded once, and then he was gone.

* * *

“Jump!” Fai managed at the last second, barely dodging the beast he had found — a creature of lightning he wasn’t sure he was equipped to defeat. It had burned through wood, was resistant to using Shadow the same way he had caught Silent the night before, and all his other elementals had simply fallen apart around its force. He’d just barely managed to force it to take its animal-like form as it was. It was all he could do to keep up defensive barriers and stay outside the thing’s reach, and it wasn’t giving him time to act, much less come up with a strategy to beat it. Maybe he could trick it with Illusion, he thought. At least that might give him enough time to plan, but as he thought to bring it to fruition, he landed on a bad tile and it slid loose under his foot, sending Fai crashing down on the roof, foot falling at an awkward angle.

In the next moment, when Fai was expecting pain or possibly death, something interfered, and Fai looked up to see a man with a sword sending the beast tumbling back to earth. In amazement, Fai watched as it staggered to its feet, having clearly taken damage, but he didn’t have much time to wonder at it, because soon the man was barking orders at him. “Hurry up and wrap it in Shadow, idiot!”

Not wasting any more time and only barely cringing when he put too much weight on his ankle, Fai obliged, and soon the beast was wrapped up nicely in an easy-to-seal package. Fai didn’t delay then, though he had his doubts on how effective the seal would be through another card: “Return to the form which you were meant to be, Clow Card!” It worked, Fai realized with a bit of breathless laughter, and the card flew into his hand as all the others had done. Now wasn’t the time to celebrate, however, and he faced this new man directly but with caution. Not that he allowed the suspicion to show on his face as he reverted to a smile as the man sheathed his sword, coming to land on the ground a scant couple meters away. “How did you know I have Shadow?”

The man scoffed, folding his arms in front of himself in a manner Fai assumed was supposed to be intimidating, but Fai was only relieved to see it. It was much harder to use magic when you didn’t have free use of your hands. “I know more about you than you think.”

“You’re the one who’s been watching me,” Fai concluded airily.

“Someone has to,” was the gruff response, and it told Fai more than Kurogane could know.

Fai did not rise to the bait. “What’s your name?”

“Kurogane,” Kurogane answered, hackles rising at the interrogation. “And you’re the unlucky prince.”

Fai, again, chose not to rise to the bait. “Well, thanks for looking out for me, Kuro-grump — ” Kurogane swiped at him for that, but Fai dodged the blow neatly, bringing Fly out for use instead “ — but it’s time for me to be getting home.” With that, he alighted on his winged staff, deftly flying well out of Kurogane’s range and waving down his way with a grin. “I look forward to our lasting friendship!”

“Fuck you, asshole!” Fai didn’t have to look back to know Kurogane was shaking a fist at him, but right now, that wasn’t his problem. Fai was exhausted and had an ankle to wrap, and was certainly in no shape to be fighting another magic user whose abilities he didn’t know.

“Kurogane, huh?” Fai mused as he approached the castle grounds. Whether Kurogane had intended to watch out for him out of kindness (which Fai doubted), saw Fai as a threat, or was the threat himself, having that name gave Fai a chance to continue the research which had ground to a halt. “Thanks for the lead.”

* * *

“Did you get the card?” Tomoyo asked brightly, already knowing the answer as Kurogane stomped back into their room, heading straight for the bathroom for a shower.

“Shut up,” he growled before locking himself away, and Tomoyo didn’t even try to stifle her giggle. Kurogane had always been a bit predictable.

* * *

Fai didn’t get a hit on Kurogane’s name on any sites he spoke the language for, but he did find an obscure Japanese site that mentioned the name to be a title passed down along a family of sorcerers. It wasn’t very surprising, and it explained why nothing came up when he attempted to scry the name before resorting to an internet search. Still, being a family title likely meant Kurogane wasn’t acting alone, and that did give Fai pause.

If this family knew enough about the cards that they knew which ones Fai had, and that Kurogane could tell him off the top of his head that of the cards he had, Shadow was the one he needed to use, then maybe the cards belonged with them. Maybe it would be best to surrender the ones he had to them and wash his hands of the whole affair.

Still, Fai couldn’t discount the fact that these incidents were happening in Celes and not Japan, nor that the staff was responding to him — that the spell indicated a contract, and though Fai had no memory of entering into one, allowing the staff to fall into another’s hands while he was in effect bound to it would not be a wise decision.

And Kurogane wasn’t exactly the most friendly of characters, their albeit brief interaction had proven that. It was possible that his intentions were less than honorable. There was a good chance that he had been the one to release the cards on Celes in the first place, though to what end, Fai could not be certain.

In any case, Fai needed more information, and with that in mind, he completed his notes and went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/628939458446852096/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-4-kien-rugastelo-cein)


	5. The Sword

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 4 of Cups

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! Still aiming for releasing these every day or so. As of now, I have chapters written through Chapter 9/Card #8, and the outline prepared for the fic as a whole, but I don't have a beta so I like to sit on them a couple days and make corrections before posting.
> 
> Enjoy!

_ Again, his hands were so small, his voice so small, and the thunder beast was before him. Even in the dream, Fai could feel his fear, could see how his hands trembled where they held the staff. _

_ And then, from his right came a huge breeze, and a gruff voice instructing him to use his sword. Fai did, his staff becoming one on command, and he struck down the beast before sealing it. He turned towards his ally and — _

* * *

Fai woke just a little angry at himself for choosing that moment to do so. He had no doubt that these dreams were of significance, and the identity of who had been at his side that whole time must have been important, and yet he could never stay within the dreams long enough to reveal them. This had been the first one where he had been able to hear their voice clearly, so he must have been making progress. Perhaps he wasn’t strong enough, or maybe he simply hadn’t collected enough of these cards. In any case, waking at such inopportune moments was immensely frustrating.

Another aspect of the dream stood out to him, though, and after a quick breakfast, Fai returned to his rooms and released the key into its staff form, being mindful of his sprained ankle still. That much, he was already familiar with, but the dream had revealed another form that he would surely find useful. “Sword!” Fai called out with some confidence, only to be met with nothing.

Fai wasn’t too surprised. Fly transformed the staff as well, but he needed the card to do it. Perhaps in order to wield the sword, he would have to capture Sword as well, assuming Sword existed. Fai hadn’t yet dreamt of a card he hadn’t encountered, so it seemed unlikely that he should start now.

Or it would, until that night.

* * *

Kurogane had detected the presence of the card while Tomoyo was downstairs eating dinner, so he wasted no time leaving to intercept. It didn’t take long for him to track the source down to a bleary-eyed woman attacking another, and he instantly recognized the weapon in her hand.

She may have been possessed by the card, but Kurogane was quicker and he disarmed her in an instant, letting her collapse there in the alley, surrounded by the debris she had been an accomplice to making. Kurogane didn’t know how long she’d been under its influence nor how many people she may have injured, but he also didn’t care. What was important was disabling the card in front of him before it could cause any more damage. Kurogane brought all his power to bear within his own sword.

And then his world fell away.

* * *

For once, Fai had sensed something was wrong before the key on his chest reacted, and the intuition had him summoning Fly — which was rapidly becoming his favorite — again to investigate. As he drew closer to the source, he slowed, eyes scanning through the carnage that drew a path through the back alleys in an already seedier part of town — one where money could buy anonymity and where Fai most certainly did not frequent when he had physical cravings to resolve, absolutely not. Some people lingered, checking the damage to both people and property, and that made Fai’s stomach grow a little cold.

Up until this point, the cards had been relatively harmless. Sure they caused some damage and threatened to become increasingly destructive if let alone, but no one had been hurt — not until tonight. Feeling a bit more urgent, Fai spent a little more of his power to move faster, sailing above at speeds that made him a little queasy until a clatter below caught his attention and he dove down to the ground out of sight.

He cast Silent, hoping to keep the more nosy and foolhardy away from the scene, at least until they were through, and peered around the corner to see something he didn’t quite expect: Kurogane bashing some crates open with a sword. Fai cringed a bit at the sight. He knew Kurogane was a potential threat, but he hadn’t clocked him as the rampaging type. Kurogane had come off to him as someone who only dealt with their opponent directly, and was harmless to anyone not involved. Combined with the fact that anyone brazen enough to carry a sword like that was likely skilled with one, the sheer size advantage he held over Fai, and the major gaps of knowledge Fai had regarding Kurogane’s skills and abilities, Fai wasn’t looking forward to this encounter.

Still, he had to do something, and Fai selected the card he thought would be most helpful in this case. “Become a cage to hold my opponent,” he whispered before tapping the staff to the card in his hand, “Wood!”

From his vantage point, Fai could see Wood spring up around Kurogane, halting him in his tracks, and it was with a bit of relief that Fai came out of hiding to check his work. Kurogane seemed good and stuck as Fai made his way around the magic trees, but something still seemed wrong. Kurogane’s eyes, even as the man struggled in the hold, seemed empty, and the sheath at his side already held a sword, so where had he been storing that sword in his hand? A sword, Fai realized slowly, that he had seen before.

It was pure instinct that had Fai leaping backwards just as Kurogane managed to cut away the branches holding him in place, just barely missing the swipe down that could have cleaved him in two. Fai was able to at least keep pace, leaving just enough room between himself and Kurogane to avoid injury, but his ankle was not pleased about it, and Fai knew he wouldn’t be able to dodge forever.

He needed a distraction — anything to get Kurogane’s attention focused elsewhere long enough for the man to hesitate — and Fai pulled out another card. “Take the form of the one he most loves, Illusion!”

Fai didn’t wait to see if the strategy was effective, washing himself with a barrier as he rushed forward into Kurogane’s space to slam his staff down over his hands. Kurogane’s grip faltered and the sword clattered to the ground. As Kurogane collapsed beside him, Fai’s ankle also gave out, but he didn’t allow himself a moment to correct his stance as his knee hit the ground hard. “Return to the form which you were meant to be, Clow Card!”

Card in hand, Fai used the staff to lever himself into a standing position, keeping as much weight off his throbbing ankle as possible. Using four cards in rapid succession in addition to his own magic combined with the physical exertion was taking its toll, and it was only the fact that Kurogane was stirring and that Fai didn’t want to telegraph his current weakness that Fai managed the will to keep standing. “Good morning,” he called, taking a bit of joy in seeing Kurogane’s face sour at his voice.

“You sealed it?” Kurogane asked as he pulled himself into a seated position. No questions about what happened or whether there had been any casualties — just whether or not the card was sealed. Either Kurogane was at least partially aware during the havoc, or it was beyond his capacity to express care regarding anything else.

Fai would remember that. “It’s sealed,” he confirmed. Distantly, Fai could hear approaching footsteps, and he wasn’t exactly itching to be caught right then, so he drew Fly out one last time — it at least didn’t seem to take as much of Fai’s energy to wield as some of his other cards did. “You should get moving before the authorities get here,” he advised, tapping the staff to the card.

Kurogane scoffed at that. “Like you can’t stick around.”

“I have my reasons,” Fai assured him as he alighted the staff once more. “Take care, Kuro-grump!” With that, Fai soared away, leaving Kurogane to fend for himself.

* * *

Fai woke late the next day — well, later than usual — and he cursed himself for it as he redressed his ankle and selected an ensemble designed for once to draw the eyes away from his legs. Of course, he knew that he would need extra time to recover, but sleeping in too long would just draw suspicion, and he was still hesitant to involve Ashura, or anyone else, into the affairs.

As he entered the throne room, Ashura greeted him with a warm, amused smile. “Good afternoon, young Fai.”

“Good afternoon, my King,” Fai greeted in return, schooling his face carefully to keep how much his ankle was bothering him from showing as he settled beside Ashura. “Have I missed anything interesting?”

“The guard reports there was a rampage last night,” Ashura replied easily. “It appears the perpetrator has not been apprehended.”

Though he didn’t know why, Fai felt a little relieved at the news that Kurogane had gotten away, and he decided to think more on that when he had a bit of privacy, instead electing to wave a hand vaguely. “Oh that?” Fai said, tone flippant. “It was a simple case of possession. I took care of it last night.”

“Ah,” Ashura said, not sounding surprised in the least. “Then there would be no mortal criminal to be had.”

“Precisely.”

“And that was how you injured your foot,” Ashura continued, brightly.

Fai cringed internally at that. He should have known Ashura would notice. Ashura seemed to be aware of everything. “A minor sprain,” Fai explained, as if it were of no consequence at all.

Ashura’s hand found Fai’s and concern fell across his features. “If you are hurt, then you should be resting.”

“I’m resting now,” Fai assured, squeezing back. “I’ll stay off it, I promise.”

Ashura’s expression was dubious, but it seemed he elected to trust Fai just then, signalling for an attendant to bring Fai something for the pain, and Fai allowed it, knowing this was just the way Ashura showed that he cared for him. The sensation of it was warm in his chest as Fai basked in the feeling of being loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep forgetting to mention it, but each chapter comes with notes, some more extensive than others, on my [#my notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/tagged/my-notes) tag. For the beginning chapters, they aren't as extensive as I don't want to give too much away, but as we get deeper in, I'll be connecting things more thoroughly to show how everything comes together. For example, this chapter will have a little bit of theory on just why Fai favors Fly so much (aside from not wanting to stress his ankle more than he has to).
> 
> Just be aware, for those who like to piece things together themselves, the notes may contain minor spoilers for the upcoming chapters, which is why I keep them out of the fic proper.
> 
> Also, you may notice that each chapter has been assigned a tarot card. I go more into that in those notes as well.
> 
> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/629025645714866176/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-5-kien-rugastelo-cein)


	6. The Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5 of Wands

It was as if the cards had known Fai was injured and took pity on him. Over the next week and a half, two more cards appeared which were easily caught, barely requiring Fai’s presence to do so, and he was secretly relieved. It was nice to know that there were cards that were passive, and nuisances at worst. It helped to soothe away the suspicion that the introduction of the cards had been an attack on Celes, and some of Fai’s anxiety about the situation had lessened. He didn’t need that on top of the reports of an entire village being found abandoned just the week before.

Still, if it wasn’t an attack, Fai still didn’t understand the motive, and he was tempted to send the guard to find Kurogane and bring him in for questioning. The only reason he decided not to was that it would call his own actions into question, and Fai really didn’t want the scrutiny just then.

Kurogane had been suspiciously absent in those two encounters as well, and Fai was left to wonder at why and what the man could be planning next.

* * *

When Fai next sensed the presence of a card in the middle of that day, he took a car down to the market to try to follow its presence. Normally, it wouldn’t be a terrible walk, but his ankle still wasn’t quite healed and without knowing how potentially violent the card was, expediency was of the essence.

Once he got down there, he tried to take it easy, leaning upon structures for a bit of support to get some weight off his bum foot as he attempted to suss out the source, being too wary of walking about with a cane. It was difficult as the presence seemed diffused throughout the area, and for a moment, he thought maybe he had imagined the whole thing and thought it would be best to return home to the palace.

Then, he felt eyes, and glanced that way to spy Kurogane lingering about, eyes meeting his own as they both spotted each other. Kurogane leveled a glare his way, but otherwise didn’t react, instead opting to continue whatever he was doing, which seemed to be to wander as apparently aimlessly as Fai had been just before.

Fai’s nerves were calmed slightly knowing that Kurogane wasn’t interested in causing a scene, but that didn’t mean he should let the suspicious man out of his sight. As he made to move away from the wall he was resting against, though, a merchant grabbed his attention. “Oh, what a treat, what a  _ treat _ , to see the Prince here among us lowly peasants. Perhaps I could interest his majesty in some of our wares?”

Fai regretted not having the foresight to cast a glamour over himself, but it was too late now, and not wanting to sour his reputation — Kurogane’s remark weeks ago about being the Unlucky Prince still crept into his mind from time to time — Fai put on his best smile. “Oh, no thank you. I’m afraid I’m in the market for something very unusual.”

The merchant waggled their eyebrows at that, voice dipping down to an innuendo. “Why, if the Prince is interested in some  _ unusual _ merchandise, we certainly have some here in the back! Right this way, right this way.” As the merchant set their hand against Fai’s back, Fai realized he had lost sight of Kurogane altogether and, resigned, he allowed the shopkeeper to lead him to the back where indeed he had some very unusual items.

* * *

It was nearing midnight by the time Fai had made it back to the palace, completed his duties, and readied himself for bed. The merchandise of the shop certainly had been unusual, though not really something that piqued his interests. Still, Fai grimaced at the idea that the visit may spark a new round of rumors about him and his tastes, and that they may get back to Ashura later on.

He didn’t have much time to think on that though as his eyes grew unnaturally heavy as the clock tower rang out the time, and Fai was swept under to the world of sleep.

* * *

The next morning played out much like the day before, and the presence of a card had Fai returning to the market as soon as he was able. The journey seemed as doomed as the first, however, when Fai found he once again could not pick up the trail. Nearly sulking, he folded his arms and rested against a wall, and as he glanced up, he again found Kurogane’s red eyes staring his way.

Determined, Fai pushed off the wall ready to march his way, only to be accosted by the same merchant as the day before. “Oh, what a treat, what a  _ treat _ , to see the Prince here among us lowly peasants. Perhaps I could interest his majesty in some of our wares?”

Fai faltered only a moment, wondering if this was a strange joke, though the shopkeeper seemed to be wearing exactly the same expression as before. Recovering himself, Fai erred on the side of patience. “Oh, no thank you. I’m afraid I’m looking for something very specific today.”

The merchant hardly seemed perturbed as they placed their hand against Fai’s back. “I can assure you, we cater to some  _ very specific _ tastes here in the back! Right this way, right this way.”

Again, Kurogane was gone, and Fai let himself be led to the back, certain that there was something strange going on here.

* * *

It didn’t stop with the shops. Fai worked through the same business he had the night before upon his return to the palace, and though he was able to finish the job more quickly, it did nothing to settle his growing unease. What was worse was that no one else even seemed to be aware of it, and when he brought the topic up to an aide, she had only asked if Fai was feeling under the weather, and suggested that he take an early sleep that night.

As midnight loomed closer, Fai had taken to pacing despite his slight limp, trying to suss out exactly what was going on, but as the clock tower chimed the hour, Fai felt his strength leave him, and he collapsed unconscious to the floor.

* * *

Fai awoke in his bed, uncertain as to how he got there, but he was starting to get an idea. He was served the same breakfast, and was put through the same morning exercises as he had the last two days he had experienced — the last two days which his staff had not. This time when he made it down to the market, Fai found Kurogane quickly, and the man jerked his chin once eye contact was made. Not having any better ideas, Fai followed him into the less-traveled alley.

“Were you planning on sealing the damn thing anytime soon?” Kurogane snapped as soon as they were away from prying eyes.

Fai, at least, made the effort to be diplomatic. “So it is a card, then?”

“Of course it’s a card!” Kurogane barked. “What else would it be?”

“Well, Kuro-pup — ” Fai took some delight in the sneer that crossed Kurogane’s face at that nickname “ — in my experience, there is a lot of magic in this world. It wouldn’t do to assume every incident is the work of a card without evidence.”

Kurogane loomed close, but Fai was not one to be easily intimidated. “If you want your evidence, it’s there in the clock tower. Now are you coming or not?”

“What’s wrong?” Fai asked with false innocence. “Can’t the big bad warrior seal a measly card all on his own?”

“Time isn’t a measly card,” Kurogane shot back before stomping away, and Fai, having no better plan, followed.

* * *

By some miracle, Fai was able to talk Kurogane into waiting until the last of the attendants had left for the night before they made their move, citing that anything to trigger public panic would only make things more dangerous for everyone involved. So instead they waited, hiding away in a disused stairwell that led up to the top, where Kurogane proved himself to be more or less immune at all of Fai’s attempts to lure him into conversation.

If Fai was being completely honest, this truce made him more than a bit uneasy. Last he had checked, Kurogane wanted nothing to do with him, or at the very least was content to stay hostile. So why would he lead him straight to a card?

To be fair, Fai had met the man twice before — the first when Kurogane had saved his life and talked him through how to beat Thunder, and the second under the influence of Sword. Maybe Kurogane wasn’t such a bad guy — unsociable, but not an enemy. At the very least, he didn’t seem to want to wreak havoc on Celes, unless of course, he was simply biding his time. Perhaps he needed Fai to collect more before he could make his move.

What Fai needed was more information, and Kurogane had clammed up tight.

Just as the sun was setting and the last of the attendants left the building, Kurogane’s eyes finally slid open to unerringly meet Fai’s. “Don’t startle it. If you do, we have to start over again tomorrow.”

Fai’s chuckle then was amused. “Oh~ so that’s what Kuro-grump needs me for! He couldn’t seal it with his mean, scary face.”

“Shut up,” Kurogane grumbled. “And it’s Kurogane!” he corrected as he started up the stairs, mumbling something like  _ Damned prince _ .

“Whatever you say,” Fai commented airily, but shut up all the same after summoning forward his staff. In truth, he had no desire to live through this day again, and didn’t want to find out the hard way there would be consequences if the situation were allowed to continue for too long.

Kurogane peeked back his way, spotting the card Fai had selected. “You’re not seriously going to try to catch it with Windy?” he shot back with a harsh whisper.

“I guess I could try to trap it in Shield,” Fai mused quietly.

Kurogane’s face told Fai that he thought him to be an idiot. “We’ll need Shield to protect us from Time’s effects. Don’t you know anything about these cards?”

“I understand the theory,” Fai began placatingly, “But I’m making up the details as I go. There’s not exactly a lot of information out there about these things, you know.”

Kurogane did not look reassured. “What cards do you have?”

Reluctantly, Fai pulled out his stack, 13 cards in all, and Kurogane studied them disapprovingly. It ticked Fai off, but he covered it with a grin. “How about you?”

Kurogane at least had the grace to look faintly embarrassed. “None yet.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers, Kuro-sulk.”

Kurogane didn’t dignify that remark with a comment, and he returned to studying the assortment of cards. “Out of these, Shadow is your best option.”

Fai let a questioning hum escape his throat. “And why’s that?”

Kurogane sighed, a bit resigned. “Shadow falls under the Sun; Time and Windy are under the Moon. Time is a higher powered card like Windy, but we have a better chance with Shadow because the Sun tends to overpower the Moon.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Fai commented as he put the unneeded cards back in his pocket, a little surprised that Kurogane would actually take the time to explain it all, though he supposed a well-informed ally was better than an ignorant one — assuming Kurogane was an ally, that is. “Ready?” Kurogane only nodded, so Fai called on Shield and they continued their ascent. It didn’t take long for them to climb high enough for Fai to spot Time sitting among the clockwork, and he sent Shadow along to wrap him up nice and tidy as he’d done before.

This time, though, the card managed to slip through and for a moment, Fai thought it would escape entirely so he readied a spell of his own, but as Time reached a window, it activated a ward that had been placed there, trapping it in an electric field. “Do it!” Kurogane commanded, and Fai complied only because he wasn’t sure he’d get another chance.

“Return to the form which you were meant to be, Clow Card!”

Once the card was complete though, it floated up above Fai’s head, and into the hand of one smirking Kurogane. With a dark chuckle, Kurogane waved the card in triumph. “The card goes to whoever did the most to overpower it,” he gloated, “I’ve won this one, prince.”

Fai glowered only a moment before hiding it behind a cool smile. He’d known from the start that there was something strange about Kurogane actively seeking him out, and yet he’d gone along with the plan anyway. There wasn’t anyone he could blame but himself, and there was no shame in being out-maneuvered once as long as the damage was minimal — something Ashura had taught him long ago. Instead of dignifying Kurogane’s victory with a response, he primly stepped over to one of the windows and effortlessly stripped off the wards there, relishing the surprise on Kurogane’s face at how easily he could disarm them. The wards weren’t weak things, but Fai wasn’t either. If Kurogane really wanted to move against him, Fai intended to make him aware of just how outmatched he really was.

With a flourish, Fai activated Fly and settled regally upon his staff. Just because Kurogane won the battle did not mean Fai would cede the war. “I don’t need a rival, Kuro-grump, so take care if you intend to make an enemy of me. Ta ta!” With that, he soared out the window and began the short flight home, leaving Kurogane alone with his victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/629122533196775424/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-6-kien-rugastelo-cein)


	7. The Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 6 of Pentacles

To say that Kurogane was irritated at his victory cut short would not have been inaccurate. Certainly, he had heard the rumors about the prince being powerful, but seeing Fai strip away Kurogane’s wards as if they had been inert pieces of paper was something Kurogane had not been prepared for.

And Fai’s threat had not been an idle one, indirect as it was, that Kurogane was sure of. It seemed the plan to allow Fai to collect lower-powered cards and use trickery to collect the more powerful ones themselves — one Kurogane had not made himself, and wasn’t all that proud to accept in the first place — was hopeless. Even if he could overpower Fai with the Clow, Kurogane doubted he would be able to beat Fai directly unless he was very, very careful, even having wrested control of Time.

“Is something bothering you, cousin?” Tomoyo asked from where she was playing a card game at the table, as if she was in any way unsure about the answer. She’d inherited the powers of a dreamseer and related abilities from the family line where Kurogane had not. He had no doubt that given time, and if she grew an inclination toward fighting, Tomoyo would eventually become stronger than he was. It was sheer dumb luck that she wound up being a pacifist. Kurogane was a fighter and a tactician, but as far as magic went, he was useless without a conduit, and the best one he’d found so far had been his family’s sword.

Altogether, it painted a grim picture of their possibilities of accumulating the cards fairly. “We need to rethink our strategy.”

“Oh?” she prompted, sounding disinterested, though Kurogane was sure that much was calculated. Tomoyo was a tactician herself, in her own ways.

“That damn prince is too powerful,” Kurogane supplied as he crossed his arms, considering their options. “At this rate, he’ll wind up with all the cards.”

“Is that so bad?”

Kurogane glowered her way. “In case you forgot, we’ve been ordered to collect and seal them.”

“We’ve been ordered here for harm reduction,” Tomoyo countered, still keeping her attention on the game. Kurogane wasn’t going to argue the specifics with her when they were both technically right. “If the prince gathers the cards himself, that’s just less work for us, isn’t it?”

“And how do you know he won’t harm people with them?” he shot back, not understanding how she could be so passive in all this. If Fai won the cards, then there would definitely be no way that Kurogane could stand against him — possibly not even with their entire clan to back him up.

“Call it women’s intuition,” she said with a laugh in her voice before finally glancing Kurogane’s way. “We haven’t received a negative premonition about the Prince yet. Have patience, cousin.”

Kurogane, frankly, was sick of her shit and he snatched up his sword in preparation to get some space before he did something he regretted. “You might be comfortable gambling people’s lives on dreams, but I’m not. If the prince proves himself to be a threat, I will cut him down.”

Unphased, Tomoyo returned to her game, and when the very next card she drew was The Moon, she knew it was time.

* * *

“A dreamseer, huh?” Fai commented after looking over the credentials he had been presented with as he lounged on his throne, Ashura absent attending to other matters of state.

“I am,” Tomoyo confirmed, matching smile for smile, “And I would be honored to be permitted to study beneath you, Prince Fai.”

Fai was not a fool. The young lady before him and Kurogane at least had a similar ethnic background on top of both being magic users, having eyes of nearly the same exact shape and skin holding similar tones, though Tomoyo seemed pale in comparison to Kurogane. Not to mention the suspicious timing. To assume they were entirely unrelated would likely prove to be a grave error later on down the line. The question was why would she put herself willingly into Fai’s hands. Fai ached to know. “And?” he prompted, “Have you foreseen my answer?”

“I find that dreams frequently yield not answers, but more questions,” was her bright response, giving even the fakest of Fai’s smiles a run for their money.

Oh but she was a smart one, Fai thought ruefully, and certainly much more diplomatic than Kurogane was, almost disarmingly so. It was not necessarily a positive trait. Still, nothing about this young woman spoke to Fai as a threat, and he couldn’t deny that having her in his court could work towards his favor. “We have not had a dreamseer in our Court for some time,” Fai remarked. “I look forward to your service.”

If Tomoyo was satisfied, she hid it successfully behind a sweet smile and a well-timed hand to her face. “Thank you, my Prince.”

* * *

Over the next several days, Tomoyo continued to be nothing more than a complete angel. Her manner was sweet and her wit was sharp as a tack, despite her young age. If Fai hadn’t known better, he would have sworn that Tomoyo had been navigating royal courts her entire life with the way she managed herself around him and everyone else she happened to cross. It almost made Fai jealous, the way she seemed to ease her way into the new environment seamlessly. Fai himself had needed years of training to be at her level, but Tomoyo seemed to have a talent for the often oblique ways of court.

So when Tomoyo came by Fai’s rooms one morning with a bland excuse of “Today would be a good day to take a walk, I think”, Fai knew there was something else there behind her words.

* * *

At first, the walk seemed aimless, as though Tomoyo herself wasn’t sure which direction she wanted to go. For over twenty minutes, they meandered through town until suddenly, it was as though Tomoyo had caught the scent of something and she directed the two of them in a more assured fashion, heading toward the shipping district — not exactly the scenery Fai would choose for a mere walk.

“Tomoyo..” Fai began, but the rest of his question died in his throat when a great crash came from down by the docks. He made to dash that way, but Tomoyo caught him by the sleeve, not in a hold Fai couldn’t break, but still urgently enough to give him pause despite the shouting coming from the direction of the crash.

“It wants a challenge,” Tomoyo informed him unprompted, for the first time allowing some worry to overcome her smile. “You’ll have to beat it in a test of strength.”

Another crash sounded, followed by screams, and Fai knew they wouldn’t have time to argue, so he only fixed her with a stern look that brooked no arguments. “We’ll talk later,” he informed her, before taking his key in hand and rushing towards the scene.

* * *

The prince, Kurogane concluded from his perch on the roof, was an idiot. Sure, it had probably seemed like a good idea at the time to throw up a barrier to contain the card — locking himself in with the thing was another matter entirely. It was a stroke of pure dumb luck that Kurogane had happened to be within its confines at the time. At first, Fai had attacked with Sword, which Kurogane had to admit was ballsy, but Power had been nearly unaffected by the attack, and that seemed to be where Fai’s plan fell apart. Kurogane watched for over ten minutes while the mage played keepaway, testing his other cards in an attempt to restrain Power, and he understood the strategy: use minimal energy; hope the damn thing tired itself out. It would normally work, but not on a card like that one. At this rate, the idiot would pass out and Power would continue its rampage undefeated and barely weakened.

And Kurogane still wasn’t sure what Tomoyo was thinking. At first, he had assumed she had infiltrated the palace for intel — to prove once and for all whether the prince was a threat or not. He hadn’t expected her to lead him straight to a card at the first opportunity and provide advice, of all things. Not that the mage seemed to be taking it.

It wasn’t looking good, and Kurogane was sure he was going to have to make the call of either rescuing the prince himself or letting him die the moron he was when Fai managed to surprise him.

* * *

Fai hadn’t thought he would actually manage to catch the pole when the card had swung it at him not unlike a bat, but he somehow kept his grip until his feet found purchase again, and he held it if only to not get knocked about the head with it. Besting the card in a sword fight hadn’t worked — which considering the lack of sword on the card’s side, seemed obvious now in retrospect — and Fai was low on ideas on how exactly he was going to beat the thing. He was obviously outmatched in strength, and if this kept up much longer, there was a good chance the damn thing would kill him. It was unfair, seeing just how tiny it was. If nothing else, Fai should have been able to win by the advantage of size alone.

Which, as it suddenly dawned on him, may be possible now that he actually had the pole between them. If he could just lift the card up and cause it to lose its traction, he could carry it to its defeat. Having no better ideas and not sure how long he could keep the card from wrenching the pole out of his grasp, Fai cried out “Tug of war!” and the card suddenly went still.

Consciously keeping his breathing under control even as his ribs protested each breath, and just glad that the card was no longer trying to bash his head in, Fai continued: “I challenge you to a match of tug of war.”

* * *

“What the hell is he thinking?” Kurogane muttered to himself, thinking Fai must’ve taken a hit to the head to have such a dumb idea until he caught sight of the prince’s stance. Fai wasn’t planning on pulling, but lifting — carrying Power across the line magic drew in the sand to victory. Maybe the mage wasn’t such a moron after all, Kurogane thought absently as he watched, waiting for Fai to heft the card skywards and end the rampage.

Except, Power didn’t move, and that set Kurogane’s face to a frown. It shouldn’t have been that heavy, and Kurogane had no doubts that Fai had some enchantment up his sleeve to make himself strong enough to lift a pole with a child on the end high into the air, but it seemed they were deadlocked. It had to be magical interference of some sort, he concluded irritably, which meant the mage was going to lose, and Power would be free to continue as it pleased. Already there had been injuries. Unchecked, there would probably be deaths as well, and Kurogane wasn’t confident that he could overpower the card himself if it could be tricky in such ways — no one could.

Which meant the mage  _ had _ to win.

Cursing himself, Kurogane drew out his sword and the only card in his possession, before activating Time and leaping down to the ground below. He only hesitated a moment before ducking down and cutting below Power, turning what had been solid ground below its feet into loose dirt and gravel, before returning to where Time was waiting and cancelling the spell.

Time resumed. Power lost its footing and fell to the ground allowing Fai to seal it, and Kurogane only had a vague hope that his contribution would earn him the card, but as he figured, it flew straight to Fai’s waiting hands. Kurogane told himself that this was fine. No one else would be hurt today, and so it was fine if the mage got one more card. Kurogane would just have to catch the next one, that was all.

He caught Tomoyo’s knowing eyes only momentarily before he slipped away to return to his room. She could think what she wanted; Kurogane had his duty, nothing more.

* * *

Fai had to hand it to Tomoyo, she didn’t look nervous in the slightest, though that possibly had to do with the fact that Fai had decided to conduct the interrogation over tea. Truth be told, Fai was exhausted and in no mood to play the part of a brute, especially with the bruised ribs catching that pole had earned him. Besides, something told him Tomoyo would be more receptive to friendliness anyway. It was all smiles between them when Fai picked up his cup after dismissing his attendants. “I take it you are aware of the situation?”

“More than you are, it seems,” Tomoyo replied, voice not unkind — just stating a fact.

“Quite,” Fai returned, not offended. “Would you care to enlighten me?”

Tomoyo hummed to herself briefly before wondering aloud, “Where to begin?” She only considered a moment longer before coming to a decision. “You may want to write this down.”

Fai produced his phone and set it to record, placing it between them face up. “Will this do?”

Tomoyo clapped her hands in front of her, undeterred. “Perfect! Now — ” and she launched into a brief summary of the Clow Cards and their structure: 52 known cards falling under two jurisdictions, split into 3 houses each, created by a great magician who had passed long ago by combining Eastern and Western magic. Each card possessed great power, and it was rumored that whoever could collect them all would become the new master of the deck. The cards had been missing for some time, and had been thought to have reemerged earlier this century, but had apparently vanished again until recently.

“And how did you come upon this information?” Fai asked with some cheer. The information Tomoyo had provided seemed plausible enough, and Fai chose to believe he could trust that she at least believed she was conveying the truth.

“The knowledge has been passed down my family line,” Tomoyo returned briskly.

Which explained why Fai couldn’t find the information elsewhere, he realized. “A family with magical abilities?”

“For the most part.”

“Of which Kurogane is included?”

“No comment.”

That gave Fai pause. It seemed there were limits to Tomoyo’s helpfulness. Fai tried from a different angle. “Are you able to confirm your relationship with Kurogane?”

“I’m afraid I have only been authorized to provide you information about the Clow Cards and myself, my Prince,” Tomoyo came back, still sweet as sugar and calmer than the shores of Celes.

“And your dreams?”

“When appropriate.”

Fai sat back in his chair at that, smile relaxing just a bit as he mulled that over. If Tomoyo was following orders, then it would be prudent to take any information she provided with a grain of salt, plausible as her explanation may have been. She seemed trustworthy, but Fai himself had been schooled in how to appear trustworthy — it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume Tomoyo had gone through the same. And she hadn’t denied Kurogane entirely — not even bothering to question who he was before declaring that she had nothing to say on the subject. That in and of itself was telling. Only time would tell, Fai decided, and he set his cup down with some finality, though he maintained his congeniality. “Thank you, Tomoyo. You’re dismissed,” he announced, having faith she would catch the double meaning.

Tomoyo did not seem bothered at all, but still made no move to stand. “If it’s all the same to you, my Prince, I would prefer to stay.” The way her smile brightened just then made Fai want to believe she was well and truly on his side. “You are the one who holds the sealing staff afterall!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/629210599150190592/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-7-kien-rugastelo-cein)


	8. The Erase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 7 of Swords

It was with some reluctance that Fai sealed the Storm away, knowing it would fall to Kurogane, but the choice was to do so or risk it becoming active again, and so he did it. Kurogane didn’t even bother to gloat, just snatched up the card and stalked away.

It was frustrating, but not unbearably so. Fai had 15 cards in his possession, and to his knowledge, Kurogane had two. It was more the fact that Fai was the one still expected to seal them away, knowing that Kurogane would receive them that ticked Fai off. If Kurogane really wanted the cards for himself, why couldn’t he muster up the power to do so himself, and if that was impossible, then it would have made sense that he would have at least tried to steal the key by now — along with the cards in Fai’s possession.

He didn’t, and Fai could only guess at why.

* * *

Another couple weeks went by and Fai caught another card (with no interference from Kurogane — it turned out the man did not have the means to become airborne, and so Fai had had the advantage when capturing the Float), bringing the total to 16-2.

Tomoyo, at the very least, seemed pleased by the turn of events. “You’re doing very well, my Prince,” she commented during the walk home, “We’re already more than a quarter way done!”

It would have been encouraging if Fai’s mind hadn’t been elsewhere. It seemed as though people were disappearing with increasing frequency, and no longer just in the borderlands, but right here in the capital. Some disappearances had even been reported by loved ones who had turned to the guard in distress — family and friends apparently vanishing without a trace.

“Prince?” Tomoyo cut into his thoughts, concern evident on her features, and Fai felt vaguely guilty for worrying her so, so he smiled wide and waved his thoughts away.

“It’s nothing. Now, about Illusion…”

* * *

“And no one else has come or gone?” Fai asked the guard again, just to be certain.

“No, milord,” the guard confirmed. “Our outposts have no record of anyone leaving town by road.”

“Thank you,” Fai said, keeping his pension off his face, “Dismissed.” It was only when the guard had left and Fai was the only one remaining in the conference room that he allowed the worry to come over his features. He could feel the life forces within the city dwindling, and yet there were no reports of people leaving, except in the name of regular trade, and no bodies to be found. It simply didn’t add up, and the remaining people in the capital were uneasy — much longer, and he would have a panic on his hands.

Perhaps, Fai considered, it was time to issue a quarantine, but to what end? If it were a disease, there would be bodies, or at least beds taken at the hospitals, and yet there seemed to be no sickness. And who knew how long a whole family could be disappeared without anyone realizing if people were confined to their homes.

Two sharp knocks at the door had Fai pulling his mask back on again. “Enter,” he called, and was answered by Tomoyo sweeping into the room, velvet pouch in hand. “How can I help you, Tomoyo?”

“I think, my Prince,” she began, settling in the seat to Fai’s right, “That I can help you. I’ve been reviewing your cards.” And here she drew them out one by one, naming them in turn: Windy, Fly, Shadow, Watery, Rain, Wood, Jump, Illusion, Silent, Thunder, Sword, Flower, Shield, Power, Mist, and Float. “And of course, Time and Storm have also been captured. That is 18 cards, 5 of which are of air, and 4 of those you have. It indicates you have a strong affinity for air, which is associated with information.”

Fai picked up Windy, turning it idly in his hands. All he had done was catch them as he found them. It didn’t necessarily indicate an affinity he had — not unless the key and his own personal affinities had something to do with how the cards became active, a possibility he wasn’t ready to dismiss outright. “And you think I should be able to use them to scry?”

“Yes,” Tomoyo confirmed, gathering up the cards of the remaining elements and setting them aside. “We don’t have enough cards for detailed readings, but between your affinity and these four cards, simple yes-or-no questions and directions should work. First, you must clear your mind of all other thoughts.”

Fai took a deep breath through his nose, held it a few beats, then released it through his mouth slowly, emptying his mind in a way he had practiced many times before. Tomoyo talked him through placing the cards: Windy at the top, Float to the right, Fly to the left, and Jump at the bottom, all facing outwards from the center.

“Now, hold your key above the center, and ask your question,” Tomoyo directed.

Fai hadn’t really thought of what to ask, more interested in the knowledge of how to perform the divination than to actually seek out any knowledge, but it was almost as if one came to him completely unbidden, and Fai let it loose: “Are the disappearances the work of a card?”

Nothing happened, but Tomoyo was not discouraged. “It helps to be very specific.”

Fai tried again: “Are the disappearances in this city the work of a Clow Card?”

The cord grew taut within his hands as if the cards were pulling on it and the key glowed softly a few moments before growing dim again. Tomoyo clapped her hands together silently with excitement. “That indicates a yes!”

Fai had not expected that. He hadn’t even felt the presence of one; the key itself hadn’t grown hot. “Is it within my current ability to capture?” Again it glowed and dimmed — another yes. It wasn’t encouraging. Between the key and his own senses, he’s been able to detect the work of active cards fairly reliably until now. Having one he couldn’t sense was troubling at best. “Which direction is it in?” At that, they key pulled sharply, and Fai mentally reviewed how the room was positioned within the castle to determine it was indicating toward the northwest. “Is it inside the castle?” At that, the key drew downwards again, but stayed dim.

“It must be outside,” Tomoyo indicated, confirming Fai’s interpretation.

“Do you know what card it is?” Fai asked her, and Tomoyo considered the question a moment.

“There are a few possibilities,” she hedged. “Move, Loop, Maze, Through, or Return could be hiding people in spaces that aren’t easily accessed, but if people are really disappearing, then the only one that could do that would be Erase.”

Fai did not like the sound of that, and he made to stand without further delay. “Let’s go.”

* * *

Fai had taken them almost a mile away from the castle using Fly before he was able to pick up on the card’s trail, and when he saw where it ended, he almost wished he hadn’t. He touched down just outside the cemetery hopping off the staff first to help Tomoyo down. It made him a bit anxious knowing the card was somewhere in the graveyard — an association with disappearances possibly using death to power itself wasn’t exactly a good omen.

“How are your defensive spells?” Fai asked her.

Tomoyo cast her eyes into the graveyard, calculating. “I think it would be best if I waited outside,” she decided, much to Fai’s relief. He could scarcely believe how quickly he was becoming attached to her. “If it is Erase, you should be able to seal it if you can force it to reveal its real body.”

“And if it’s not?”

“Move and Through are tricky; you’d have to immobilize them first. And you would have to escape Loop, Maze, or Return before you could seal them.”

“Alright,” Fai said, nodding as he turned his gaze toward the entrance, trying to get a better read on the situation, but nothing seemed to pop out. “Don’t follow me unless you have to.”

“Understood,” Tomoyo agreed readily, and Fai had to wonder if she knew more about what was happening than she let on.

It would be a question for another time, though, and Fai did not intend to delay any longer and allow more people to fall prey to the card. With that in mind, he took a breath and stepped into the cemetery.

Fai hated places like this. He wasn’t sure if it was his magic or the dead, but they seemed to cling to each other any time he visited, making his powers slow to react and overwhelming his senses, and tonight was no different. He felt vaguely sticky, as if he were working his way through mire. Though he couldn’t sense the individual spirits themselves, their sheer numbers nearly drowned out the presence of the card entirely, vying for his attention — though for what purpose, he couldn’t be sure. It had been that way as long as he could remember.

The tattoo on his back itched.

Since he couldn’t feel out where the card was directly, Fai began to search methodically, walking up and down each row in turn, waiting for the moment when the presence of the card would overwhelm the dragging sensation of death all around him. With a great degree of self control, he did not hurry. If he was hasty, he could possibly overlook something vital, and he had no intention of staying here any longer than strictly necessary.

After what felt like hours, Fai came upon a grave under a willow tree, and the presence of the card finally emerged as the most urgent over everything else that lingered among the corpses. Fai closed his eyes, holding the card he had selected close to his chest and feeling out the movement of energy around him, trying to pick up on any catch or drag that could indicate an anomaly.

When he found it, Fai didn’t hesitate, turning on his heel and activating the attack: “Thunder!” It worked, and the presence separated itself from the gravestone it had been occupying, and Fai swiftly sealed it away.

He caught the card easily, though he was feeling taxed both physically and emotionally, and it was with a bit of trepidation that he opened his eyes. To his relief, the marker was undamaged, and without a thought, Fai let his eyes rove over the name.

* * *

“Fai!” Tomoyo called, rushing forward. She had entered the grounds once she had sensed the card separate from the host body it had hidden itself within, feeling uneasy, and she had rounded the corner just in time to see Fai collapse to his hands and knees. “Prince, are you alright?” she asked, hands finding each of Fai’s shoulders as her eyes checked for damage.

Fai shook his head roughly, as if confused on just how he had gotten into such a position in the first place, but his smile was soon back, obscuring his thoughts from his face. “I’m fine, Tomoyo. I must have blacked out when I caught the card.”

Tomoyo could feel her eyebrows gathering together. That wasn’t right. Fai had caught the card and there had been a delay of several seconds before he had dropped like he had been struck. Just then, Tomoyo’s eyes flicked to the gravestone that had been host to the card, and a sense of dread washed over her.

“I promise I’m fine,” Fai assured her, likely misreading her expression, though his words called Tomoyo back to the present all the same. “I’m sorry to have worried you.”

Tomoyo helped him stand wordlessly, clamping down on her concern. This was _Fai_ in front of her, alive and a little worn out, and with a newly sealed card in hand. The present had to come first.

Fai was walking with his own strength by the time they exited the cemetery, and he seemed to perk up immediately as soon as they were beyond the gate. “They’re back,” he murmured with a bit of awe.

“The missing people?” Tomoyo asked.

Fai nodded. “I can feel them. They’re really back.” His gaze dropped to linger almost fondly on the card in his hands: Erase. “They’re all okay.”

Tomoyo ushered him on. “They’re okay, but you need some rest.” Fai, thankfully, did not protest that, and as they were flying back to the palace, Tomoyo could not keep her thoughts away from just what she had seen on that marker.

** Fai Fluorite **

** 1989 - 2000 **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this, we close out this first quarter of the main story.
> 
> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/629292058038910976/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-8-kien-rugastelo-cein)


	9. The Glow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 8 of Pentacles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Text messages between characters will be between <> for ease of identification. They'll be followed by each characters initials: KS for Kurogane, TD for Tomoyo, FF for Fai.

<And you’re sure that’s what it said?> — KS

<It’s still there if you want to check it yourself> — TD

<That doesn’t make sense. The idiot is clearly still alive> — KS

<Then who is buried there?> — TD

<I don’t know> — KS

<Stick close to him> — KS

<Of course> — TD

* * *

Tomoyo wasn’t sure what to make of it. The magic that lingered on Fai’s gravestone when she returned to check it the next day wasn’t of the Clow, which could only mean someone else had enchanted it. It explained why Fai had been affected by it — why he hadn’t seemed troubled after finding what appeared to be his own grave — he didn’t remember seeing it.

Erase being drawn to that marker in particular suddenly made a lot more sense.

Even worse, there was definitely a body down there — one that seemed of the appropriate age. It destroyed the theory that Fai had been near death and the grave had been prepared in advance, only to not be needed. Someone had died and had been buried as Fai, or Fai had died and the prince was not Fai.

Tomoyo wasn’t sure which possibility was worse.

Her dreams revealed nothing, though, so all she could do was report back as necessary and continue under the guidance sent back to her, and hope that the answers would reveal themselves in time.

* * *

“Will you be joining us at the festival?” Fai asked sweetly over lunch, mood much improved now that the disappearances had been solved.

“Festival?” Tomoyo asked, tilting her head lightly to the side.

“To celebrate everyone coming back,” Fai provided before his smile morphed into something a little more sly. “Have you ever been to a real, Celesian party, Tomoyo?”

Tomoyo hid her giggle behind a hand. “I’m afraid I haven’t had the opportunity.”

“You’re in for a treat,” Fai assured her, grin wide and wistful. “No one in the world parties like we do. I can’t wait to see what they’ve thrown together this time.”

* * *

Fai’s invitation gave Tomoyo enough time to design and throw together an outfit for the occasion. It was with no small amount of cheeky glee that she selected a fabric with moons stitched into it. It had turned into a private game — seeing how long she could project her obvious affinity with the moon before Fai commented on it. Not that she thought the man was dense by any means, he simply had a lot on his mind of late. Once she was found out, though, it would be interesting to see how long it would take before Kurogane’s affiliation with the sun was discovered as well.

Tomoyo was a firm believer in finding joy where one could, besides. The world was terrible and terrifying enough as it was. No one could begrudge her a little harmless fun now and again.

The next few days seemed to fly by, even without any new cards to add to the excitement. All around town, the energy seemed to grow in time with the decorations. What had been a time of quiet joy and relief at the return of those who had been lost was ramping up to anticipation of a party the likes of which the capital had never seen.

It started with baubles in windows, little figures made of grasses woven together and decorated in clothes frequently in shades of blue — a color that seemed to be a running theme later on. Doorways and window frames were soon painted the color as well, chimes of silver hanging over each and tingling softly in the breeze. As the day of the festival came nearer, streamers of silver and blue were strung above the walkways and the streets began to fill with the scent of cloves and cardamom.

“Blue represents the thaw,” Fai had explained once she had thought to ask, “It’s the color of the water once the ice has melted away, signalling warmer days ahead. And silver is the color of the glimmering horizon just before the sun rises over the sea. A lot of people believe the colors bring good luck and prosperity.”

It was very different from what Tomoyo had grown up around, but delightful all the same.

The day the festival was planned to begin, a pregnant hush fell over the city. Streets that were typically busy were practically deserted, and Tomoyo had found even the prince had slept in later than usual — an attempt to get some extra rest before the fun began in earnest.

As the sun approached the western horizon, the town slowly began to come alive. First came those who specialized in goods to consume, bakers preparing spiced pastries, chefs cooking up their richest meals, brewers selecting the best of their wines, beers, and meads for the night ahead. Then came those with stalls for games in their storefronts, so that the skilled could win what wares they made. Finally, as the sun vanished and people began to take to the streets — some in masks and some with open faces, but all in the best blues and greens and silvers they could find — the air began to fill with the sounds of flutes and strings and drums, and the festival began.

* * *

Tomoyo had thought Fai was being a bit silly at first when she spotted him. He had opted for a blue robe shot through with silver thread of a material so light it seemed to float on the autumn breeze. He’d braided small plaits in the top layers of his hair that held little silver stars woven in, of a style that matched his ear pieces and other adornments. But the thing that had amused Tomoyo was the wooden fox mask that covered the top half of his face enchanted with a glamour that would keep a regular person from recognizing him on sight, but wasn’t so strong someone of Tomoyo’s power couldn’t see right through it. “Keeping a low profile?” she asked as they grew closer to the festival grounds.

“It’s a lot more fun this way,” Fai returned in good humor, making a beeline already for the first stall he spotted with alcohol available. “Do you drink, Tomoyo?”

“I’m still a bit young,” she said with a laugh in her voice, “But you have fun.”

“Oh, I will,” he assured her, and drank deep.

Fai made good on that promise. With his artificial anonymity, he easily mingled in with everyone else, and not an hour in, he was arm and arm with other revelers, dancing to whatever jaunty tune the musicians had blessed them with at the time. Tomoyo didn’t think she’d ever seen the prince look so genuinely happy as he did just being a regular person in the crowd, though she was content to watch from the sidelines watching both the dancing and the street performers who had come out as well.

With a mischievous grin, Fai broke from the line and approached Tomoyo, taking both her hands in his own and coaxing her away from the wall. “Come on, it’s a party!” Tomoyo couldn’t say no as Fai led her in a looping, spinning dance full of laughter as they barely dodged the people around them. The song was quick and their steps were light as they twirled and swooped among everyone else celebrating the return of loved ones thought to be dead but only hidden.

Tomoyo had glanced away just a moment, a cute girl catching her eye, and she missed whose arm had raised just at the wrong time, sending Fai’s mask sailing off his face and clattering to the ground. Fai startled and stopped their dance abruptly, unease showing on his face over his tipsy flush briefly before a paper grin covered it up, and someone to the left gasped. “Oh look! It’s the prince!”

“The prince?”

“Prince Fai’s here!”

All at once, it seemed that the crowd rushed forward, shouting questions and comments in an overlapping cacophony even as Fai tried to step back to maintain some space. For a moment, Tomoyo thought they’d be crushed in the clamoring commotion, but Fai kicked his mask back into one hand and took one of Tomoyo’s wrists in another, and he darted away, dragging her behind him even after they broke free of the crowd. He pulled her through streets and alleys, holding the mask firmly to his face and expertly dodging around party-goers who had no idea why someone would be running such a way in the first place until, finally, they came upon an isolated tree in a grassy area, and Fai collapsed beneath it in a fit of laughter, clutching one arm against his aching ribs as he did so.

“We made it!” he cried, rocking onto his back and letting the giggles subside.

“Yes, we did,” Tomoyo agreed a bit breathlessly, sitting beside him with the same humor. “I can see why you brought that mask.”

Fai pulled it away from his face with a grin, not needing it in the small amount of privacy they’d found. “I told you, I can have more fun with it.”

“That you can,” Tomoyo agreed, looking back in the direction from which they had come, where the festivities were still lively. “They really love you, don’t they?”

Fai sat up, robe sliding off his shoulder a bit from the motion, but Fai neglected to put it back just then. “They think so, anyway,” he replied obliquely, turning the mask over in his hand.

Tomoyo spied some ink peeking over Fai’s shoulder, and it resonated with her magic as her eyes fell upon it. Feeling curious, she pointed it out. “What’s that?”

Fai glanced down, following the line of her finger to his tattoo, regarding it with a smile. “It’s a limiter,” he said, touching the edge of the ink lightly, fondly. He seemed lost in his thoughts for just a moment before he continued: “When people found me as a child, my magic was completely out of my control, destroying everything it touched. They thought they were going to have to kill me to stop it. Ashura managed to pull it back, and he gave this to me so that I never have to worry about it again.

“Of course, it doesn’t stop it completely,” he added with a laugh in his voice. “I obviously still have my magic. But it keeps me and everyone around me safe from — well — me,” he finished with a little quiet self-deprecation.

“How did he pull it back?” Tomoyo asked, curiosity open on her face. Usually, when someone’s magic ran amok, it would either tear them apart, or continue the cascade reaction until their power had been burned up so completely it would never regenerate again. She’d never heard of a successful recovery like Fai’s before.

“I don’t know,” Fai admitted, not sounding sad or uncertain at all, his trust in Ashura open and complete. “I can’t remember anything before waking up in the castle, but Ashura’s cared for me ever since.” Fai hugged his knees to himself, smiling gently Tomoyo’s way. “I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

Tomoyo opened her mouth to say something, but it was lost in surprise as lights began to twinkle overhead, soft and faint, but growing in number within the tree. Slowly, they descended, floating down like snow all around them, and Fai reached forward to catch one with his hand. “It’s warm,” he remarked, drawing it closer to his face without fear, a flash of recognition making its way across his features.

“They’re beautiful,” Tomoyo murmured, looking around and only seeing them falling beneath the tree they had found. “Is this..?”

“A card,” Fai declared, pulling out the key he wore around his neck even now, and the surety behind the statement interested her. Fai must have been getting stronger despite his limiter to be able to detect a card when she could not, and Tomoyo had to wonder at what would happen the day Fai would overpower it completely. “Key that hides the forces of darkness, show me your true form! By the covenant, I, Yuui, command you. Release!”

Tomoyo kept the surprise off her face at hearing Fai summon the staff for the first time and the name he used to do so. She watched as Fai sealed the card away from where he was sitting in the grass, tucking it away and dismissing the staff almost effortlessly, despite the obvious incongruity. “Yuui?”

“Yeah, it only responds to Yuui,” Fai replied, still relaxed and visibly happy, having long accepted that this was another mystery that could only be revealed with time. “The first time I sealed a card, that’s the name the key used when it possessed me. Isn’t that strange? What do you think it means?”

Tomoyo wasn’t sure, but she was afraid they would have to find out eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/629387539197968384/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-9-kien-rugastelo-cein)


	10. The Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 9 of Wands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not even going to wait for night (local time) to post this because I've been looking forward to unleashing this beast into the wild for a week now.

Fai read over the report a few times, still not believing his eyes. He had sealed the card. They should have come back. “And you’re certain that none of them returned?”

“I’m afraid not, your majesty,” the guard reported. “It seems only the people in the capital have been restored.”

There was nothing the guard could do about it, so Fai dismissed him so he could think in private. The people who had gone missing in the capital had returned on their own when he had captured Erase, so why had none of the people gone from the outlying villages returned? Had they been missing for too long? Was it the work of another card? Or maybe it wasn’t a card at all, but something else that had been snatching them up. The basic divination he’d had with Tomoyo and the air-based cards had not indicated anything but the capital, after all.

Fai didn’t have very much time to ruminate over it as Ashura swept into the conference room before too long. “Is something troubling you, Fai?”

Fai didn’t bother throwing on a smile, though he did consciously relax his face just a bit for Ashura’s sake. “It seems only the people who disappeared from the capital were restored. We haven’t seen a trace of the people who have gone missing from the outer towns.”

“I see,” Ashura said, concern washing over him as he placed a hand on Fai’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Fai. I know how troubling it is when things do not work out as you planned.”

It wasn’t as comforting as Ashura had probably intended it to be, but Fai was grateful all the same. It was nice to have Ashura’s support, even if the man wasn’t aware of exactly what was going on. Mind made up, Fai rose from his chair, gathering his notes. “I think I should go investigate.”

“Is that wise?” Ashura asked, not giving away his thoughts on the matter. Fai was used to it by now — Ashura was only trying to encourage him to think things through the way he would have to once Fai became king himself.

“Galat is only a day’s drive from here,” Fai explained, “And the disappearance event there is at most only a week old. If I hurry, I may be able to read the traces before they vanish completely.”

“Our mages weren’t able to read anything when they arrived,” Ashura reminded him.

“And I’m not them,” Fai returned with a smile. “I’m much more capable. You should know, my king; you trained me.”

Ashura regarded him warmly for just a moment before wrapping his arms loosely about Fai’s shoulders in a rare embrace. “Be safe,” he urged, the words a spell of their own.

“Of course,” Fai said as he returned the hug. He’d figure this out. He’d find out what happened to those people and bring them and everyone else back — somehow.

* * *

Tomoyo managed to catch Fai at street level where he was installing the bed cover so that he could load up some supplies. The trip wouldn’t take more than two days, so he didn’t need much: a bed roll in the back, a couple changes of clothes, some food, first aid supplies, and plenty of water in case autumn storms came, which could leave him trapped on the side of a road until waters receded. It wasn’t an unfamiliar drive, but one leg of it stretched through a wide wash that, when flooded, appeared deceptively shallow, but swept away vehicles every year when their drivers ignored the posted warnings and misjudged the depths.

“I should go with you,” Tomoyo offered, worry evident in her expression, but Fai shook his head at that.

“I need someone here in case a card starts acting up,” Fai explained without halting his packing. “Someone capable, someone I can trust.” And he did, despite what misgivings he’d had in the beginning. In the worst-case scenario, Tomoyo could throw up a barrier and maintain it until Fai returned, or even involve Ashura if it was that dire, but he needed someone who understood the situation to remain in the hotspot the city had become.

That didn’t erase the unease from Tomoyo’s face, though. “You shouldn’t go alone.”

Fai smiled wide for her sake. “I’m afraid I don’t see another way. Even if I did find someone we could tell, nobody else here has enough power to make a difference. But I promise I’ll be careful.”

“If I recommend someone,” Tomoyo bargained, “Would you take them?”

It felt like a trap, but Fai was having a hard time fathoming saying no. He had already begun thinking about Tomoyo like a little sister, and he wouldn’t know what he’d do if he refused and she started to cry (real tears or no, Fai didn’t think he could stand them). Besides, if she was being this insistent, there was a good chance she’d had a premonition, and Fai had no reason to doubt those yet. “I guess that would be fair.”

“You promise?”

Fai was certain this was a trap, but he’d already said that he would. “I promise.”

* * *

“I can’t believe you let Tomoyo talk you into this,” Kurogane griped, sitting as far away from Fai as the passenger seat would allow.

“Oh?” Fai crowed, not entirely pleased about the situation himself, but absolutely living for how much Kurogane was hating it, and so he maintained his excessively positive exterior just to piss him off further. “And what about you, tough guy? You couldn’t say no to that face, either.”

Kurogane did not dignify that with a response, instead fixing his glare out the window. “What the hell are we doing out here anyway?”

“You must not follow the news very closely,” Fai commented wryly.

“Doesn’t concern me unless it’s a card,” Kurogane confirmed.

Fai hadn’t really expected anything else. “You’d be surprised. The entire town was deserted about a week ago. Nobody knows where the people went. It’s like they just vanished.”

“Sounds like Erase,” Kurogane muttered.

“I caught that one,” Fai countered.

“I know.”

Fai had suspected as much. As much as he and Tomoyo liked and respected each other, she was still under orders, and as such would be obliged to report back. It wasn’t the most ideal of situations, but Fai couldn’t begrudge her for doing her duty any more than she could him doing his. “Then you know if it really was Erase, they should have come back by now.” Tomoyo had even reached out to her contacts in her homeland to confirm it — Erase should not have had the ability to disappear people permanently. “So the question is: what happened?”

Kurogane continued muttering under his breath (something like  _ I can’t believe I’ve been sent off on this Scooby Doo shit _ ), and Fai found that he really didn’t mind. As they left town, grassland gave way to forest as they went up through the mountain pass, and once on the leeward side hours later, the trees vanished in favor of the desert scrubland that surrounded Galat.

* * *

The rest of the drive was quiet and without incident. Once or twice they stopped for a break — to eat and relieve themselves — and Fai had adamantly refused to allow Kurogane to ride in the back, for both safety reasons and the fact that he wasn’t sure there was enough space for the man to actually fit back there, giving him the ultimatum of sitting in the seat as he had been doing, or being left on the side of the road.

Kurogane had seen sense, in the end.

They arrived in Galat after dark, and the sight of it was eerier than Fai had anticipated. Here and there, he could spot dropped bags in the street, or see a vehicle that had seemed to have continued on its own momentum until it hit something strong enough to stop it. Some buildings had fire damage and a few others water damage, cookfires and running taps having gone out of control without someone to monitor them. It was as if everyone had just been spirited away in the blink of an eye, leaving everything as it was to continue without human interference.

“Spooky,” Fai commented as they slowly made their way further into town. Vaguely, he wondered what had become of the animals — if they had vanished too, or had been left to their own devices.

Kurogane huffed out a breath through his nose. “I’m not sensing a card, are you?”

“I’m not sure,” Fai admitted with honesty. There was something here — something he felt he should recognize — but it was faint. He could barely sense it, much less identify it, the sensation not so different to hearing people chatting quietly but indistinctly in another room. As they pulled up to what was roughly the center of town, Fai parked and turned off the engine. “We should take a look around, just in case.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” Kurogane grumbled as he opened his door anyway.

“Actually, in this country, I am,” Fai replied easily, checking his phone for messages as he switched on the flashlight function. “We should probably exchange numbers, unless you’d prefer screaming my name,” he added with a dirty grin.

Kurogane surrendered his number (or at least  _ a _ number) without further comment, and they split up, Kurogane heading East while Fai took West, planning to work clockwise and meet back at the truck when they were done. The full moon left the deserted roads bright, even though the street lamps had not turned on, likely having experienced a failure after the people who had maintained them were gone. Between that and his senses, Fai was fairly certain he would be fine enough on his own, despite whatever premonitions Tomoyo may have had.

He wasn’t certain how far Kurogane’s abilities went, but Fai could feel the remnants of just how saturated with power the town must have been when everyone vanished. It lingered like a stale scent over every inch of this place, brushing cloyingly against Fai’s skin wherever it reached, like it was beckoning to him — calling out to him. He knew better than to follow such urges.

It seemed spread evenly, as though it had just manifested with no apparent source, blanketing the entire town as if it had descended from above and settled where it landed, neither spreading further, nor accumulating somewhere in the end. That alone was odd. Usually, for a spell to be complete, the magic had to be dispelled or rounded back up, depending on the effects. Instead it had just stayed here, an echo of disaster as real and tangible as if the entire town had been coated in a layer of ash.

Still, Fai searched methodically, opening doors just in case the animals had been spared so they would at least be no longer trapped, even though he had yet to spot any. If he could just find some clue — any scrap of evidence that could explain what had happened here and at the other border towns — then maybe they could fight it, or at least find some closure. One by one, he checked each building fruitlessly, working his way diligently in the planned half circle, until suddenly, there was a spike of energy that had Fai dashing off before he was even aware of doing so.

Kurogane had been wrong — there was a card here.

* * *

Kurogane was getting really sick of getting demolished by these cards. He wasn’t a bad fighter in the least, nor was he inexperienced or weak by any case. If anything, it was that damn Clow’s fault for having been so ridiculously overpowered that he had died the world’s most powerful magician even after splitting his power into 52 cards and sealing them away. No one had any business being that strong, and especially not someone who would pour their strength into attack cards this recklessly.

And Fight was definitely an attack card, there was no doubt about that. Kurogane had held his own for several minutes, dodging expertly even though the card had nearly ambushed him, and getting a few hits in that should have done enough damage in theory but Kurogane found quickly that even if he knocked it flat on the ground he still couldn’t seal the thing. It was when his foot caught on an abandoned purse and he lost his footing that Fight had bodily tossed him into the side of a building, and in the next moment, Kurogane expected pain — 

Instead, there was the sound of a vehicle accelerating and Kurogane could only observe the surreal sight of Fai’s truck smashing into Fight and launching it away as if it were nothing more than a crash test dummy. Fai hadn’t even bothered turning on the headlights, and he exited the truck quickly, staff in hand and shouting the sealing spell. It didn’t work, and Fai grimaced at that. “Are you alright?” he called, only briefly glancing Kurogane’s way.

“You hit it with the truck!?” Kurogane shouted, flabbergasted at what he’d just witnessed.

“Yeah,” Fai admitted, a bit too cheerfully, “Didn’t work, though.”

“You  _ hit it _ with the  _ truck _ !”

“Well, you weren’t exactly doing anything!” Fai shot back, eyes still on Fight, which was picking itself up from where it had fallen.

“You can’t just hit it with a truck,” Kurogane returned, still disbelieving that Fai had had the gall to even attempt such a thing, “You have to beat it in a fight!”

“It clearly lost the fight with the truck!”

“You know what I mean!” Kurogane replied as he stalked around to where Fai was eyeing Fight, which was checking itself for damage in a much-too-human way.

“You’re right, I do,” Fai admitted, drawing a card that Kurogane recognized immediately.

“Use it on me,” he ordered in the interest of saving both their skins. There was no way the flimsy-looking wizard before him was useful in actual combat.

Fai only shook his head as if he had caught Kurogane being sneaky. “You’re not tricking me twice.”

Kurogane scoffed at that. This pampered prince was going to get them both killed at this rate. “Like you know how to fight.”

“I seem to recall beating you in a fight just a couple weeks ago,” Fai countered easily.

“You activated Illusion,” Kurogane argued back, “While I held Sword back long enough for you to disarm it. That’s worlds away from beating Fight.”

Fai’s eyes then were sly. “Watch me,” he said before activating the card in front of him. “Give me the strength I need to best my opponent, Power!” With that, Fai rushed forward, and Kurogane folded his arms, just waiting to see Fai launched in much the same manner he himself had been a couple minutes ago so he could rub it in the proud man’s face.

But when Fight swung, Fai ducked, and when Fight kicked, Fai pulled up a small barrier to mitigate the damage. Where Kurogane tended to fight close and hard, frequently only needing one hit to knock his opponent flat, Fai danced in and out of range, taking any opening he could get and otherwise giving himself room to dodge and wait for an opportunity or for a weakness to present itself. In this, the fight had turned into a stalemate with Fight not landing any blows through Fai’s mixed magic, and Fai not dealing hits directly enough to matter as Fight’s greater level of skill allowed it to deflect the brunt of it on instinct alone. The internal countdown Kurogane maintained in his head to see whether Fai outlasted him reached 0 and Kurogane couldn’t even manage to scowl at that — not when Fai was genuinely holding his own.

Finally, Fight swung wide and Fai leapt over its head, pivoting before he even touched the ground to bring the staff down hard against its skull. Fight dropped like a sack of bricks. This time, when Fai uttered the sealing spell, Fight returned to its card form, and Fai held it up with a triumphant grin. “I told you not to underestimate me,” he reminded Kurogane as he sauntered his way back.

Kurogane would never do so again.

* * *

They were sitting on the tailgate, beers pilfered from an abandoned bar and made cold by Fai’s magic in hand, looking out over the abandoned town when Fai finally said it: “Fight didn’t do all this.”

“No,” Kurogane agreed, “It didn’t.”

“What does it mean?” Fai asked.

Kurogane didn’t think it meant anything. Something was happening — something that might have involved the cards or not — but that didn’t necessarily mean that it held meaning. Sometimes things just happened — good things, terrible things, things that were neutral at worst — and all for no reason whatsoever. He didn’t say this, though, because he had a feeling that Fai knew, and that it wasn’t what he needed to hear.

“I don’t know,” Kurogane said instead, and Fai finished his beer, crawled into his bedroll, and while Kurogane took first watch, Fai slept. Sometime in the night, Fai moved fretfully, but Kurogane decided to let him dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is peak comedy. I will never be funnier than Fai hitting fight with a truck.
> 
> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/629460798760271872/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-10-kien-rugastelo)


	11. The Loop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 10 of Wands

_ This time, he could see himself, safe behind Shield as Fight beat upon its edges. He should have been safe; Shield should have kept him safe, but it eventually buckled under the sheer force Fight presented, and Fai, stunned, went down in a shower of blows. _

_ His perspective shifted, like he was running towards himself when he had only been watching before, but that didn’t make sense. Was he seeing this from someone else’s point of view? Was this a memory that belonged to another? Through blurry eyes, he saw Fight go down, uncertain of how that even happened. _

_ “I’m sorry! I’m sorry. I can’t heal you. I’m sorry.” _

_ Fai reached up at him, hurt, but not too badly, and somehow still smiling. “It’s okay, Yuui.” _

* * *

_ “It’s okay.” _

* * *

“What’s okay?” Kurogane asked as Fai returned to the world of the waking, and Fai wiped at his damp eyes in an absent motion.

“I — ” he began, then realized just who was in the bed of the truck with him, and Fai changed his mind about sharing something so personal. “Just a dream.”

“Some dream,” Kurogane muttered, unimpressed even as he shuffled back towards where Fai was laying. “Your turn.”

“What?” Fai asked, still a bit distracted and fighting away the last vestiges of sleep.

“The watch,” Kurogane reminded him without any heat.

“Right,” Fai replied, surrendering the blanket and crawling out towards the tailgate, thoughts consumed with Yuui, and if he snuck off to grab a few more beers after Kurogane had fallen asleep, no one else was there to scold him.

* * *

<Yuui was in the draem> — FF

<Well he wasnt in it> — FF

<I think iam seeing the dreams htru yUuis eyes> — FF

<And i was theer> — FF

<Yuui cuoldnt haelmme> — FF

<And i frogace hin> — FF

<Fai, are you drunk?> — TD

<No> — FF

<Myabe> — FF

<Go to sleep> — TD

<Cnant> — FF

<Im on wacth> — FF

<Drink some water at least> — TD

<Ok> — FF

<Thnak you> — FF

<No problem> — TD

* * *

<Do not let Fai drive> — TD

Kurogane didn’t need Tomoyo to tell him that. The damn prince was smashed by the time the sun peeked over the horizon straight onto Kurogane’s eyes. Kurogane considered it a minor miracle that Fai hadn’t woken him up at all, but maybe the prince was more of a broody drunk on his own.

Either way, Fai was not a broody drunk with company, and shortly after awakening, Kurogane had to physically extract himself from the circle of Fai’s arms, wondering if the man had been an octopus in a past life. He certainly had the grip of one. Between the clinginess and the excessive nicknames, Kurogane struggled to see just how Fai had managed to navigate royal circles his whole life without causing a diplomatic incident.

After Kurogane completed his morning exercises and it was time to hit the road, it was only after Kurogane commented on how interesting it would be to see what happened when the crown prince got charged with a DUI that Fai relented the driver’s seat and sulked over to the passenger side. Then following the most disgusting siphon job of his life, Kurogane had the tank filled, and as he climbed back into the truck, he chucked the blanket at Fai with as much force as physics would allow and ordered him to sleep.

Fai complied almost a little too easily and Kurogane began the blessedly silent drive back to the capital.

* * *

Kurogane hated driving in the desert.

It was hot, there were no convenient places to pull over if he needed to, and the distances were always so deceiving. It didn’t help that the scenery was always the same — a dry bush here, a hardy flower there, rocks, pebbles, and nutrition-sapped dirt for as far as the eye could see. Occasionally, he could spot a bird of prey circling in the sky to break up the tedium.

The worst of it was after he entered the wash. It had no business being as wide as it was, and he could only imagine what great floods or climate of the past necessitated such a wide river, though the road did travel along the near middle of it for at least a couple miles. He could have sworn the mountain never moved any closer after he entered it, that it hadn’t been this wide on the way out, that he had made too many turns to the right and he should have been rightfully heading back the way he’d come by now.

Cursing himself for not noticing sooner, Kurogane shook Fai roughly as he coasted down to a slower speed. “Wake up, idiot.”

Fai groaned like he was dying, squinting around in the too-bright afternoon. “What’s going on?”

“I think Loop got us,” Kurogane told him, eyes scanning for any hint at where the boundary would be. “Help me spot where it intersects.”

“It intersects?” Fai parrotted, rubbing at his temple. Kurogane thought it would only serve Fai right if he had gotten himself a hangover after getting that drunk while standing watch of all things.

“Yes,” Kurogane ground out with as much patience as he could, “We’ll have to cut where it circles back around or we’ll never get out of here.”

Fai looked around briefly. “It all looks the same,” he moaned.

“No shit!” Kurogane barked back. “This thing could go on for miles, so peel your eyes and look! I don’t want to run out of gas out here.”

“We can’t run out of gas,” Fai assured him, finally sounding a little more lucid, “We’ve only gone as far as the — ” Fai’s face fell as he spotted the gas gauge, and he finished weakly “ — wash.” Kurogane’s fingers tightened on the wheel, already having an idea of what was going to happen next. “I thought you filled it up before we left!”

“I did!”

“Just how long have we been stuck here?”

“Does it really matter?”

“Of course it does!” Fai shot back, pulling out his phone. “We’re never going to make it back with a quarter of a tank.”

Kurogane glanced his way with some suspicion. “What are you doing?”

“Arranging for someone to meet us with some gas,” Fai answered a little haughtily, shooting Kurogane a look himself, “Or a tow.”

“Oh yeah?” Kurogane challenged, sick of Fai’s holier-than-thou attitude. “And just where do you plan for them to meet us at, when we’re stuck in a pocket dimension?”

“Is it though?” Fai asked, eyes glued to the screen of his phone.

Kurogane rolled his eyes. “What else would it be? And keep your eyes on the scenery.”

“Work smart not hard, Kuro-grump,” Fai declared, before tilting his phone at an angle Kurogane could see. “We need to see where it connects, right?” He’d pulled up his map application and the GPS had somehow locked on, moving slowly with the car as Kurogane continued to drive them in the same direction they’d been heading for hours. He kept one eye on the road and one on the screen, convinced that it couldn’t possibly be that easy, but eventually the dot skipped, jumping back by a couple miles and Kurogane slammed on the brakes.

“Wait here,” Kurogane muttered, not at all expecting Fai to obey as he hopped out of the truck and slammed the door behind him, working his way to the back of the truck to fetch his sword and catch the damn card. Fai was deceptively quick even when hungover, and Kurogane was left wanting to smash his head into the body of the truck when Fai returned triumphant with the Loop in hand.

Fai didn’t gloat and Kurogane wasn’t going to ask why as he climbed back in and sent them continuing on their way. It wasn’t much longer after that when they met with a service vehicle, and Kurogane could imagine what snide comments Fai would make on the situation.

But when the service worker asked how they’d run so low, Fai had only answered that the gas pumps in Galat had been inoperable, and so they were forced to return with what little gas they had at the time, which had not been enough for the return trip. Their savior didn’t question it, and when they were moving again with enough fuel to make it to the next gas station, Kurogane begrudgingly spoke up. “Thanks.”

Fai, for his part, looked vaguely startled at that, as if he could have never imagined Kurogane forcing the word past his lips. “For what?”

“For not saying it was my fault we ran out of gas,” he clarified through gritted teeth.

“Oh that,” Fai commented as if it were nothing at all. “I didn’t think she’d believe we were stuck driving the wash for hours, that’s all.” Fai reached down to lean his chair back as far as it would go and Kurogane had to wonder why he hadn’t done so before. “You know, I think I could get used to you driving me around like this. How would you like to be my chauffeur?”

“Over my dead body,” Kurogane grumbled

Fai laughed at that and something about it just felt right.

* * *

“Did you learn anything?” Tomoyo asked when Fai arrived in the tea room, dark circles under his eyes speaking for his lack of sleep and looming hangover.

“Nothing,” he admitted, taking up the two pills that had been left by his cup with hardly a glance at them and swallowing them with a mouthful of tea. “Caught two cards, though. I’m sure he’s pissed about that.”

Tomoyo nodded. She’d seen Kurogane’s text storm after they had made it to the gas station. Pissed was the mild term for what Kurogane was feeling. “How about the dream?”

Fai leaned back into his chair. “It was strange. We were fighting Fight, and I managed to get hurt. Yuui came right over and started apologizing that he couldn’t heal me, and I just forgave him for it.”

“Did you see him at all?” Tomoyo asked.

“No, I was looking through his eyes,” Fai murmured as he pulled out his key. “Do you think maybe this is sending me those dreams?”

Tomoyo reached out a hand and Fai deposited the key neatly in her palm. When she wrapped her fingers around it, she could send her magic through it, reading its properties and trying to make sense of them. “It doesn’t seem likely,” she concluded, and Fai accepted the key back with a sigh.

“It’s like the more cards we catch, the more confusing the situation becomes,” he admitted before taking another sip of his tea. “There’s something else, Tomoyo.”

“What is it?” she prompted, tilting her head to the side just so.

“I was  _ young _ ,” he confided. “Right around the age Ashura found me, and I’m starting to think — ” he cut himself off, but Tomoyo wasn’t having any of that.

“Starting to think what?”

Fai grimaced as if he wasn’t sure he should admit the truth to her. “If those dreams are really memories, then maybe these cards are how I lost control of my magic in the first place. You said they were last active at the turn of the century, right?” Tomoyo nodded wordlessly at that. “That would have been just before I was found. The timing, the key, these dreams — they can’t all be a coincidence.” Fai brought a knee to his chest, looping one arm around it loosely before he continued: “We need to find out who Yuui was and what happened to him. Maybe he can make sense of all this.”

Tomoyo couldn’t promise anything — she doubted anyone could — but there was no denying that the elusive Yuui was likely the loadstone that held the entire mystery together. Fai’s grave came to the forefront of her thoughts, but she set it aside for now. It was still much too early to alarm the prince. “I’ll learn what I can.”

Fai’s smile then was so gentle and so sweet that Tomoyo regretted she couldn’t be more open with him just yet. “Thanks, Tomoyo.”

All she could do was give him her smile. “No problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/629556863482134528/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-11-kien-rugastelo)


	12. The Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Page of Cups - Fai Fluorite

Kurogane was about as ready for the video chat as he was ever going to be, and so he opened his laptop and settled into the chair at the appointed time. Right on schedule, the call came through and a woman’s face filled the screen. Kurogane searched her features quietly, relieved that she appeared healthy and without pain, as face as he could tell. She smiled for him. “Hello, Kurogane.”

“Hello, mother,” he greeted in return. “Have you been well?”

“I’m doing well,” she assured him. “We’ve gotten my viral load much lower since we started the new treatment. How about you? Have you been doing alright?”

Kurogane let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I’m fine, mother.”

“No injuries?” she continued, checking him over from her vantage point on the other side of the world. “Have you been sleeping?”

“I am in perfect health,” he promised gently, and he could see her shoulders relax on the screen. “Did you receive the card?”

She cheerfully held up the Storm for him to see. “Right here.”

“Have you had the chance to examine it?”

“I have.” At that, her expression became more serious. “It appears the issue lies with the cards and not with you.”

The relief Kurogane felt at that had been hollow. He’d hoped his mother would be able to tell him why he hadn’t been able to seal them with the powers he had. If he had simply been performing the spell wrong, it would have been disappointing and a bit embarrassing, but fixable. Hearing that the cards themselves were the problem wasn’t very encouraging. “What’s the issue?”

“I can’t be certain if this will be the same for all the cards,” she prefaced, “But you can’t seal what’s already been sealed. You said that the spell Fai was using dictated that they return to card form, correct?”

“That’s correct,” he confirmed.

“That’s why it has been effective. He hasn’t been sealing them, just reverting them to a dormant form,” she explained. “I will send you details on an equivalent spell that should be within your ability to master. That should balance things out for you.”

Kurogane nodded an acknowledgement. “You said it was already sealed?”

“That’s right.”

“Do you know by who?” he followed up with. If someone had already mastered the cards and was releasing them, discovering them would help establish the true extent of the threat.

“By you.”

Kurogane froze, taken aback at this information. “Mother, I wasn’t able to seal it. The prince had to.”

“Yes, Fai reverted it to card form,” she agreed, “This time.”

Kurogane peered her way, trying to read what she was saying in what wasn’t being said. It then dawned on him what exactly it was he was missing, and he met her eye for eye. “Tell me everything you know.”

* * *

<When you’re free, we need to talk> — KS

<Understood> — TD

* * *

Kurogane tossed his phone on the bed before plopping down heavily into his chair. He’d known that 17 years ago he’d been sent off to seal the cards, and that there had been an incident. He’d known that while he hadn’t been completely successful, he had neutralized the threat at the time, even if he hadn’t known the specifics.

What he hadn’t known was that the cards had been sealed — or at least some of them anyway. According to his mother, he had sealed the card in the past, and there must have been some other force that was activating them again now. That seriously complicated matters. Whether it was Fai doing so for some reason, or a completely separate party that had so far gone undetected was unclear, but either way, the nature of the threat had changed. It was no longer cards that existed outside of human ethical codes that were the problem, but some human being manipulating them into action.

Humans had agendas; cards did not. Kurogane couldn’t fathom a situation where someone would be pulling the strings for a purely humanitarian cause. Surely if there was a positive motivation, whoever it was would have brought them up to speed by now. Why would someone acting out of the goodness of their heart go to such lengths to conceal themselves? An evil of some kind must have been afoot.

His phone rang with Tomoyo’s number on the caller ID, and Kurogane updated her on everything he’d learned.

* * *

“Is everything alright, Tomoyo?” Fai asked as Tomoyo returned from whatever call she had needed to make.

Tomoyo smiled as she took her seat again. “Perfectly fine, my Prince,” she assured him with her brightest of smiles, fully convinced there was no way Fai had been orchestrating this grand event, no matter what suspicions Kurogane had.

* * *

Fai placed his wind affiliated cards in front of him with purpose. He’d had four before, and the addition of the Move and Song made six. Tomoyo had not been inaccurate about how those cards seemed to appear with more frequency than the others, and if her information was correct, there would now only be two left to be found. No other category even came close.

Still, when he’d placed the cards and wrapped the cord that held his key around his hand, he didn’t expect the information to come as readily as it did: “Show me what happened to Yuui.”

* * *

_ When he woke up, there was a man sitting on the side of his bed, smiling down at him. “Do you recognize my face?” The boy shook his head at that. “What do you remember?” _

_ He shrugged. “Nothing, I guess.” _

_ “That’s okay,” the man assured him. “You went through something traumatic. It’s only natural your mind would try to suppress it, so you shouldn’t worry about it.” The boy nodded, but didn’t say anything else. “My name is Ashura, and you are called Fai.” _

_ “Fai?” _

_ “That’s right,” Ashura smiled, as if pleased with him. “You have a lot of magic, Fai, but you’re still very young so you are having a hard time controlling it. I helped restrain it a bit for you. You may notice some markings on your arms and your back,” Ashura continued and Fai glanced down automatically. Indeed, there were some black lines poking up from beneath his shirt. “Those are going to help you keep your power under control, so it’s very important that you leave them alone, both for your safety and that of everyone around you.” _

_ Fai reached up to touch one tendril that went high up on his shoulder, but it felt just the same as the rest of his skin. “Will I ever be able to take it off?” _

_ “Probably not,” Ashura admitted, still visibly cheerful. “But they won’t keep you from getting stronger ever. It will just help you keep your power at a level you can manage comfortably so we can keep everyone safe. Is that alright?” _

_ “I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Fai hedged. _

_ Ashura smiled brightly. “I knew you were a good kid, Fai. You would have never killed those people on purpose.” _

_ Fai’s eyes went wide and he finally faced Ashura again. “Killed?” _

_ Ashura’s eyes then were a little sad. “It wasn’t your fault, Fai. Your magic was just too strong for you to control. You couldn’t help what happened, so try not to let that upset you, alright?” He placed a sympathetic hand on Fai’s shoulder as he rose. “You look exhausted. Try to get some rest.” _

_ Fai nodded as Ashura stepped out of the room, but there was no rest for him to be had — not when the thoughts of being a killer were swimming about in his head. _

* * *

Tomoyo did not so much wake slowly as she kept her eyes closed even when consciousness reached her so that she could review the information in her dream. It had played like a memory, and though she couldn’t see Fai, as she had seen the scene from his eyes, she recognized the marks that had been visible and knew that the boy had to have been the Prince.

It left her with more answers than questions. Who had Fai killed? What did the King know? Could the information he gave be trusted? Why this memory? Why now?

None of the answers presented themselves to her, and Tomoyo wasn’t sure how much time they would have to find them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One dream, two people, two conclusions -- both right and both wrong
> 
> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/629648337087447040/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-12-kien-rugastelo)


	13. The Mirror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knight of Pentacles: Tomoyo Daidouji

Tomoyo liked to think that she knew Fai pretty well by now. The prince seemed kind, if a little starved for genuine affection, reasonable, resourceful, and quick to form superficial ties but wary of getting too close to others. He didn’t seem like a killer to her, no matter what the dream had implied, and knowing the nature of magic — knowing that it more often than not obeyed intent more than words so long as the intent was clear — she couldn’t see even Fai’s magic lashing out to take lives except in the most extreme of circumstances.

But then again, Tomoyo had only seen Fai working within the bounds of his limiter. If there was a curse involved, that would change matters significantly, depending on the exact nature of the curse.

Tomoyo liked to think that she knew Fai pretty well by now, so when she spotted him in a wing of the castle he did not frequent, it gave her a moment of pause. But then she saw that smile — genuine but mischievous without any of the sadness that seemed to linger in the Fai she knew — and knew this was not her Prince. Tomoyo smiled for the image anyway as she approached it. It wouldn’t do to cause a scene when they were still somehow managing to keep the cards under wraps. “Good afternoon, ‘Fai’.”

The image did not seem disturbed by her and it allowed Tomoyo to relax just a little. It appeared the card was not interested in being hostile, at least not where they could be observed. “You are Tomoyo.”

“That’s right.”

“Take me to Him?” the card requested, and his stance just felt wrong. For how much he looked like the Prince, and for how often the Prince cocked a hip to one side, the Prince favored resting the back of his hand on his hip, while this image favored his fist. The Prince tended to pitch his voice high, while this image didn’t bother. The Prince had the air of a chronic flirt — someone who would trick one into believing they had come up with an idea themselves instead of negotiating directly. The image was prepared to use the perceived authority to his advantage.

Tomoyo, however, was not so easily cowed. “You have business?”

“A message.”

“Who from?”

“The other one.”

Tomoyo wasn’t certain who exactly the image had meant, but she didn’t doubt that any message delivered would be of some significance to Fai, and so she did not allow herself to become deterred as she pulled out her phone. “Allow me to arrange a meeting.”

The image met her smile for smile, apparently not lacking in manners. “Of course.”

<Prince, there is a card in the castle> — TD

<It’s assumed your form> — TD

Fai’s response was a couple minutes coming, and Tomoyo could only assume he had been busy when the messages were received. <Do you know which one?> — FF

Tomoyo mulled over the cards that had been captured and which remained. <It could be Create or Mirror, or maybe Twin> — TD

<Are you in danger?> — FF

Tomoyo peeked back to the card just for a moment. <I don’t believe so> — TD

<What is it doing?> — FF

<Nothing just yet. It wants to meet with you> — TD

<Do you have any reason to suspect it might try to do you harm?> — FF

Tomoyo could only smile at that. <None at this time> — TD

Fai’s next message was a long time coming. <Wait for me in the tea room. Try to keep it out of sight until I can get there> — FF

<Understood> — TD

Tomoyo smiled the image’s way. “He is unavailable at the moment, but if you would come with me, he will join us in the tea room when he is able.”

“This is acceptable,” the image replied, and it followed Tomoyo to the arranged room without complaint.

* * *

Tomoyo had told him that the card had assumed his form, but that still didn’t quite prepare Fai for seeing himself at the table with Tomoyo, drinking tea as if it were something it did every day. It smiled his way, and the shape of it wasn’t an expression he was used to seeing on his own face, and something about it made his chest throb. But Fai was no amateur and so he schooled himself into a relaxed stance as he sauntered over to the table as well. “Thank you for your patience,” he commented in as friendly a tone as he could manage, despite his unease. The resemblance really was uncanny. If the card had decided to cause trouble instead of coming in for a chat, Fai wasn’t sure how he would have been able to explain it away.

“They certainly keep you busy, don’t they?” the image asked, returning smile for smile, but Fai had the distinct impression it was laughing at him.

“I do have my responsibilities,” he allowed, thanking Tomoyo as she poured him a cup. The image glanced her way subtly, and Fai took the hint. “Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of her.”

Fai had expected some push back about it, but instead the image looked vaguely relieved as it rested its chin on a hand. “I have been sent to give you a message.”

“From who?” Fai asked with a bit of suspicion.

The image was not perturbed. “The other one.”

“You mean Yuui,” Fai deduced.

“The other half of Fai is Yuui, afterall,” the image admitted brightly, as if this was something Fai should have already known. Fai took in the man in front of him. If it was supposed to be a copy, then it was precise in form but poorly managed in action, either having trouble copying his mannerisms, or deliberately choosing not to. These cards were powerful; if it had wanted, it should have been able to replicate him perfectly. There had to be a reason if it had opted to do otherwise, a message in the imperfect copy. The image grinned his way. “Do you understand?”

“No,” Fai admitted, “But I think I’m beginning to.”

“That is satisfactory,” the image decided, now leaning forward so both its hands supported its face. “He wants to assure you that he still believes everything will be alright in the end. He still believes in the perfect team.”

“Where is he?” Fai asked, just barely clinging on to his cheerful facade.

“With you, always,” the image assured him, “Though you may not reach him yet.”

“And so he sent you?”

“All the cards did,” the image relayed, and the surprise finally broke through on Fai’s face. “We are happy to see you get this second chance, and we want to help you win.”

“Win?” Fai repeated in disbelief. “Against what?”

The image cast its eyes aside, sadness taking over its smile in its most Fai-like impression yet. “I’m afraid that is not something I am at liberty to reveal, but we are on your side.”

_ Just like Tomoyo _ , Fai thought, weaving his fingers together in front of his face to hide a bit of his expression. “Was there anything else?”

“Just that,” the card said, smiling his way once again. “I believe you know what to do next.”

“Yes,” Fai said, grasping at his key, “I do.”

* * *

“Your other half?” Tomoyo asked not long after the Mirror had settled on the table.

“It appears we must have been close,” Fai reasoned, not even wanting to touch the card just now. The unbalanced sensation of being so easily duplicated was still troubling him. “There are few circumstances that would allow me to stand in for Yuui in a magical contract, and Mirror’s copy of me wasn’t perfect. There aren’t many possibilities, but I still don’t want to hazard a guess just yet.”

“I wonder what happened to him,” Tomoyo mused before taking a sip of her tea.

“I think I may have killed him.” Tomoyo shot him a look at that, so Fai continued. “Ashura did say that my magic had killed people before he got it back under control. If we were as close as I think we were, Yuui probably would have been in the line of fire.”

Tomoyo closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. “I don’t think that’s the case,” she declared as she set her cup down deliberately. “We shouldn’t make assumptions without having all the facts. If there were a record or more witnesses, that would be one thing, but from what I understand, it sounds as though Ashura arrived after the fact. Any number of things could have happened, but I don’t believe you’re the kind of person who would just kill people like that.”

Fai couldn’t help but flinch at that. “I didn’t say I did it deliberately.”

“Even so,” Tomoyo continued, “We’ve known each other for months now, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you’re very deliberate and precise with your magic — ”

“Because I’ve had to learn to be,” Fai cut in sourly.

“ — and I don’t believe you’re capable of seriously harming anyone unjustly, even by accident,” she continued as if Fai hadn’t spoken. “Magic is Will transformed into action. Even if you had more than you could handle, your first instinct seems to be to protect and mitigate damage. I can’t imagine a situation where your power would lash out to hurt someone unless it was in self defense, and you’re not going to convince me otherwise.”

Fai sagged against his chair in defeat. There was clearly no changing Tomoyo’s mind anymore than she would be able to change his. “You really think that?”

“I do,” Tomoyo asserted, reaching out to pat one of Fai’s hands. “And the sooner you yourself realize that, the better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/629731621900320768/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-13-kien-rugastelo)


	14. The Maze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queen of Wands: Kurogane Suwa

The hike had been a pleasant one. Fai and Tomoyo had taken a car to the edge of the woods shortly before noon, and they followed a deer trail through the forest, operating mostly on Fai’s intuition. Tomoyo didn’t mind. She believed Fai when he said he had something he thought Tomoyo would like to see, and that it would be worth the journey, which he had assured her was best made on foot.

The day was warm, but not unbearably so, and their packs weren’t too heavy. It was nice to be away from the town for a while and surrounded by nature. The colors on the trees were turning, littering the forest floor in reds, yellows, and oranges that crunched sharply underfoot at times. Through the breaks in the trees, one could sometimes spy animals that had not taken to hiding at the sounds of their footsteps, and along the path ran a stream of clean water — 

No, not just clean, Tomoyo had realized — pure. There was a cleansing aspect to this forest, nearly untouched by human hands, and the hands that had reached it — hands like Fai’s, who had murmured something to the woods before they entered — had only done so gently and with respect for so long that whatever ills may have befallen this place hundreds of years ago had all been washed away.

When Fai reoriented himself from time to time, Tomoyo could feel his magic reaching out as he placed a hand against the trunk of a tree. Tomoyo found the exercise refreshing. “Asking it directions?” she asked quietly.

“They want you to see, too,” Fai answered, voice heavy with reverence.

“The trees?”

“Yes,” Fai confirmed, “And some that are not trees.”

It was in this near-silent manner they spoke when they desired to, but there wasn’t too much to say. They broke for lunch at some point, and by then, Tomoyo was feeling revitalized. Though she could manage, she still wasn’t used to life at the castle completely. She was not accustomed to being around people with varying, often hidden agendas that reached for her as secrets dying to be uncovered. If it weren’t for the fact that the situation with the cards could have potentially become dire at any moment, Tomoyo would have protected her senses by dampening her power some. But that simply wasn’t possible, no matter how taxing having her perceptions tested constantly was.

But this place simply was. It asked nothing of her, demanded nothing of her. All she needed to do was be and enjoy her time here. If she listened — truly listened — she could hear the voices of the forest in whispers. They did not strain for her attention, but they offered information if she was willing to take it. They spoke of what plants were good for healing, what turns to take to find trees of a bark with certain uses. They offered to share stories, histories, rumors, tales — all available, if she would reach out and take it.

She would not today, but maybe another time. All these things would still be there then. Today, she was here for something else.

Eventually, they reached a wide clearing of grasses so tall they came about Tomoyo’s waist, and in the center of it all was a hill, upon which sat the tallest tree Tomoyo had seen since coming to Celes. The energy as they stepped out from the stand of trees was stiller here, and Fai spoke up after what may have been hours of companionable silence. “I hear in Japan they have sacred trees.”

“That’s right,” Tomoyo confirmed, pleased that Fai had done his research on the subject.

“We don’t have those in Celes — not exactly — ” he continued, “But we do have fairy trees. The Old Ones guard them, and if you’re on good terms, they will let you near. It’s not quite the same, but it’s close. I thought after being here so long, you might be feeling a bit homesick, so..”

Tomoyo touched a hand to Fai’s arm with a genuine smile. “This is very sweet of you, thank you.” Fai was right, she had been missing her home. Everything here had been so different from what she had been used to, even the magic flowing in unfamiliar patterns. Seeing something that was at least a parallel concept was nice. “Is there anything we should do for the fairies?”

Fai grinned, pulling a liquor bottle out of his backpack, and Tomoyo had to giggle at that. Of course they would be fond of alcohol — what spirits weren’t? Tomoyo trailed along Fai as they carefully made the trek towards the hill, and they slowed as they reached where the earth began to rise up. Fai pointed down at the mushrooms pushing up through the dirt like sentries at their posts. “This is a fairy ring. It circles this entire hill and marks the boundary between their territory and ours. A lot of people are scared to cross over, because some people never come back.”

“Disrespectful people,” Tomoyo concluded.

“That’s right,” Fai agreed, “But I think we can manage some good manners. They did tell me how to find this place, after all.” With that, Fai set the bottle down gently just beyond the border, and Tomoyo could feel the flow of energy change just so, beckoning them inwards. Fai stepped over first, turning back to offer his hand. “Shall we pay our respects?”

Tomoyo placed her hand in Fai’s and stepped over as well, and in that instant, her world changed, just a bit. When what before her had been a great hawthorn tree moments ago, now stood a  _ sakura _ tree just as majestic as any she had seen back home, and the sight of it took her breath away. She was certain they had not been transported, as everywhere outside the ring had stayed as it was before, even the leaves that had fallen from the hawthorn tree had not been altered — it was just this one tree, the fairy tree, that had been changed.

“It seems they like you,” Fai commented, gently tugging her closer to the tree.

When she was scarcely a breath away, Tomoyo’s hand slipped free so she could touch the changed tree before her with both hands. It felt real to her fingers, and feeling moved, she touched her forehead to the bark. “Thank you,” she murmured, for this really was the most wonderful of gifts.

It was when Fai stepped forward to pay his respects as well that the earth shot up around them, and Fai instead clutched Tomoyo’s hand as they were boxed in and separated from the fairy tree.

* * *

Fai regained control of his breath as the world settled around them in a configuration the card seemed to be happy with. It had taken more power than he had anticipated to force the wall that had threatened to spring up between himself and Tomoyo to stay firmly below ground, but it was worth it to not have them separated in this mess. He quickly thought through what cards were remaining and came to a conclusion. “This is Maze, right?”

“That’s right,” Tomoyo said, a little startled from the suddenness of the change, but otherwise unhurt.

“So, we just have to get out, and we can catch it?”

“You make it sound so easy,” Tomoyo returned, and Fai could only shake his head at that. Of course it wouldn’t be, but there wasn’t really much other choice.

* * *

Hours later, Fai felt like there still hadn’t been any progress. He’d tried flying them out, cutting through with Sword, punching through with Power, removing it altogether with Erase, and even tricking it with Illusion, Shadow, and Loop. All it had accomplished was wearing him out. The only positive result so far was that he had managed to keep himself and Tomoyo from becoming separated. At least he could protect her, if nothing else. But the full moon was rising high in the sky, and Fai was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to get out.

“Would a divination work?” Fai asked, scraping at the bottom of the barrel for answers.

Tomoyo shook her head. “The paths would simply change again.”

Fai had figured as much. “What happens if we can’t get out?”

“We would remain trapped here,” Tomoyo provided. It wasn’t encouraging.

“If you had all the cards,” Fai began, flopping down to sit on the ground, “What would you try?”

Tomoyo placed a finger to her mouth in thought. “Through would probably work. Or maybe stopping Maze with Time or Freeze.”

“Nothing that we have though?” Fai asked with little hope. Tomoyo shook her head. “Figures.”

“We shouldn’t give up,” Tomoyo countered, but Fai didn’t think she sounded so confident herself. Fai would have laughed in any other situation, but he didn’t want to hurt her that way.

“Maybe Kuro-grump will sense it,” Fai offered instead. “He’s got Time; he’ll rescue you.”

“But not you?” Tomoyo asked with a bit of sadness in her voice.

“I’ll come along for the ride,” Fai assured her with a grin, “But it’s you he’ll come for.”

Tomoyo’s eyebrows pinched together. “Fai — ”

“ _ Tenma Kuryuusen! _ ” That was all the warning they had before an energy wave like a great dragon cut straight through the labyrinth, and Fai grabbed Tomoyo’s hand with barely a thought, dragging her behind him as he followed the path that had opened up before it closed back up on them again. When they broke through the final wall, Kurogane waved his sword again: “ _ Shoutai Konrei! _ ”

The Maze was forced back into its card form, and Fai wasn’t even upset for having to concede this one, but instead of going to Kurogane, it floated down to where Fai was waiting just in front of the hawthorn tree. He took it warily, confusion open on his face. It didn’t spring back open to imprison him, though, and Fai studied the card in disbelief. “That can’t be right.”

Kurogane didn’t seem surprised in the least, and that did nothing to calm Fai’s rising unease. “The words you’re looking for are Thank You.”

Fai shook his head roughly, trying to make sense of it. Up until now, the pattern had been consistent: beat the card, get the card. What would make this one so different? “It should have gone to you. You’re the one who beat it; you’re the one who sealed it! You said the card goes to whoever did the most to defeat it, right?”

“If you don’t want it, then hand it over,” Kurogane growled as he sheathed his sword.

“That’s not it, and you know it,” Fai shot back, not caring that Tomoyo had to be a witness to their argument. He was tired of feeling manipulated into action and left in the dark every step of the way. “There’s something wrong here. It should have gone to you!” And Kurogane should have been more wound up about this than Fai was, and the thought of that had Fai narrowing his eyes Kurogane’s way. “What aren’t you telling me? Just what the hell is going on?”

Kurogane opened his mouth to answer, but Fai wouldn’t get to hear it as just then, Fai felt the sensation of being tugged back as a light shone behind him in the direction of the tree, and the last thing he saw before he was swallowed up was the full moon sat high in the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Shoutai Konrei_ (正体今戻): True/original form now return/revert. _Shoutai_ already existed as a term in Japanese, and _konrei_ was taken from the _on_ (sound) readings of the final two characters. It's possible that _kon_ should have been _kin_ , but I thought _kon_ sounded more natural. In CCS canon, Syaoran's attacks are all four-character phrases, which I tried to remain true to in forming this reverting spell.
> 
>  _Tenma Kuryuusen_ is one of Kurogane's attacks in the TRC manga, characterized by a dragon wave in the direction Kurogane assigns. He also has another dragon one _Tenma Shouryuusen_ which rises. All of Kurogane's attacks in the manga can be found [here](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/629470077816815616/kuroganes-attacks), though I didn't get all the notes on them when I made the post.
> 
> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/629820658520670208/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-14-kien-rugastelo). I'll be going through previous chapters and adding links to their notes as well this afternoon.


	15. The Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King of Swords: Yuui Fluorite

**Year 1999**

They were sitting together in the library, Fai with a large book open and spread across his lap. The key and its cord rested where the pages met, resembling a bookmark in the way it laid.

“You should do it,” Fai said before Yuui had a chance to speak.

“Why me?” Yuui asked.

“You’re better at offense, and I’m better at defense,” Fai explained cheerfully, as he turned the book around so it was facing Yuui instead. This promised to be their greatest adventure yet. “You can focus on catching them, and I’ll focus on protecting us. We’ll be the perfect team.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Yuui acknowledged before reaching forward to sign his name on the line in the book, completing the contract.

* * *

Yuui fell from the sky when the card released him, but not for too long, as Fai created a wind of his own to cushion the fall. “Thanks, Fai!” Yuui called back before going back into the fray. His magic worked with Fai’s and soon they had the card boxed in between the two of them.

“Return to the form which you were meant to be, Clow Card!”

Windy was forced back into its card form and it flew into Yuui’s waiting hand, and Yuui beamed from ear to ear as he bound up to his brother. “We did it! We caught one!”

“Alright!” Fai cheered, giving his brother a high five. They really were the perfect team.

* * *

**Year 2000**

“I can’t believe he got one,” Yuui muttered sorely as they began the walk home.

“Don’t worry,” Fai assured him, “We’ll get it back.”

“How?” Yuui asked.

Fai’s grin was sly. “When we catch the rest of them, we’ll challenge him to a duel, and when we beat him, all the cards will be ours.”

Yuui wasn’t so certain. “What if he catches more than us?”

Fai scoffed at that. “Are you kidding? It’s 2 against 1! We’ll beat him, no problem. We’re a perfect team, remember?”

Yuui grinned wide. “You’re right. There’s no way we could lose!”

* * *

“Do you think this is what they meant?” Yuui asked, looking over the devastation. People had died this time, and he couldn’t help feeling that it was his fault. If only he had been faster or stronger, maybe he could have saved them. Yuui wanted to tear the Power in two.

“About what?” Fai asked.

“When they called us the unlucky princes,” Yuui supplied. Fai didn’t say anything, instead slipping his hand into Yuui’s and giving it a squeeze. Of the two of them, Yuui had always been the one with the heart more easily broken.

* * *

Yuui was saved when a rock hit Fight right at the temple, distracting it long enough for Yuui to scramble out from underneath it.

“Hey ugly!” Fai shouted defiantly. “Bet you can’t defeat me!”

“Fai!” Yuui shouted as Fight ran towards his brother instead. This wasn’t the plan. Fai wasn’t a good fighter. Yuui would fight, and Fai would defend. That’s what they’d agreed on. Fai was never supposed to put himself in harm’s way like this.

Fai threw up a barrier at the last second while Yuui finally managed to push himself to his feet, one side of his face sticky with blood and his left leg protesting having to hold his weight. For a moment, Yuui watched, stunned and more than a little dazed, but he could see the barrier starting to buckle, so he pulled out a card. “Shield!” The card rushed forward, supplementing Fai’s original spell, and Yuui used the time it bought him to think. There had to be a way to beat this card. He couldn’t let it hurt anymore people. He had to win against it, somehow.

Then Shield gave out and Yuui didn’t have any more time to think.

* * *

Fai was hurt. Fai was hurt and it was all Yuui’s fault. If he had just thought to use Power earlier, if he had just been a little faster, a little stronger, a little smarter, he could have protected Fai like he was supposed to. Fai was hurt — he never wanted to see Fai hurt. “I’m sorry!” Yuui sobbed, taking up one of Fai’s hands in both his own. Fai was the one of them who could heal, but who healed the healer? “I’m sorry,” he offered again. “I can’t heal you. I’m sorry.”

Fai reached up, holding Yuui’s cheek and catching some tears there. He was smiling. “It’s okay, Yuui,” he assured him, gently. “It’s okay. I’ll be alright. You did your best.”

* * *

Yuui swung Sword down, severing the loop at the seam, and it only took a moment to seal the card away. It felt wrong. Without Fai at his side, sealing away the cards felt wrong. Yuui clutched the card to his chest in a prayer. “Get better soon, Fai.”

* * *

Yuui was grinning from ear to ear as he looked down at the freshly caught card, and Fai peeked over at it as well. “We can use this,” Fai murmured conspiratorially.

“What do you mean?” Yuui asked.

“When we go out to catch a card, we can send this one out somewhere else,” Fai explained, plucking the Mirror from Yuui’s grasp. “He won’t know which set of us to follow. It’s perfect!”

“That’s a lot of magic,” Yuui remarked, not dismissing the idea entirely.

“I know, but you can do it, Yuui,” Fai assured him. “You’ve become super strong since we started catching these cards. If it’s you, you can definitely do it. I believe in you.”

Yuui smiled at that. “You’re right,” he admitted. “But I still couldn’t have done it without you. Perfect team?” he raised his hand, and Fai met him for the high five.

“Perfect team.”

* * *

Nobody else could tell, but they could. Even though they were identical, Fai and Yuui could tell they weren’t in the right bodies. It only lasted a day, but one day was long enough. “When did your shoulder start hurting like that?” Yuui asked after they had switched back.

Fai shrugged, not meeting his eyes. “Fight hurt it. I don’t think it healed right.”

Yuui frowned, guilt washing over him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I knew you’d look at me like that,” Fai answered, shaking his head fondly. “I told you, it wasn’t your fault.”

Yuui wasn’t ready to believe that. “But if I hadn’t — ”

Fai shushed him, drawing him into a hug before the tears could start. “I made the choice to egg it on, and I made the choice to make a barrier instead of running. None of that was your fault, and I will never, ever regret saving you from that card. One bad shoulder is a small price to pay for your life. So please stop beating yourself up over it. For me?”

Yuui nodded against Fai’s good shoulder. “I’ll try.”

* * *

They had most of the cards now. All Yuui had to do was catch this last one and they could challenge their rival for the rest of the cards. Just one card left and it would all be over. Yuui tried several cards, and though some of the pillars of earth were chipped away, the main body of the card did not emerge. Trying another strategy, Yuui drew out another card. “Thunder!”

Lightning struck and the main body of the card did not emerge, but a large section of earth was cut away, tumbling toward the ground and striking a hastily erected barrier that crumpled instantly beneath its sheer mass.

Yuui screamed and did not stop for a long time.

* * *

This land was gone. Its people were gone, the animals were gone, the buildings were gone, the landmarks were gone. When the news reached other kingdoms, Yuui was sure they’d report it was an accident — an explosion or something like it — something so massive and devastating that it could take out all of the tiny country, leaving not a single living thing behind except for the three of them.

Yuui knew the truth, and it was with a sense of resignation that he turned to his uncle, key grasped within his still too small hands. “Will they come back?” he asked.

Ashura smiled the same gentle smile he always gave him. “If you win.”

Yuui didn’t take any comfort in that. His perfect team was no more, even with the new warmth that had rested within his chest. Still, it wasn’t as though he had a choice. “I won’t lose. I can’t.”

Ashura, even as he raised one arm, seemed unnaturally still. “Then let’s begin.”

* * *

**Year 2017**

Fai stumbled forward into the grass as if falling from a great height, and he didn’t have long to take in the sight of Kurogane kneeling with his sword pointed down, or of Tomoyo fretting at his side before Tomoyo shouted out: “Seal it!”

Fai turned, only just noticing he had the staff already in his hand, facing the light emanating from the hawthorn tree. “Return to the form which you were meant to be, Clow Card!” This time, the card did shoot straight for Kurogane, who only barely caught it before he collapsed onto the ground. Fai staggered to his feet, not feeling much better than Kurogane looked. “Is he alright?”

Tomoyo nodded, though she didn’t seem too convinced. “Time is a very difficult card to use, but he should recover with rest.”

Fai nodded, feeling strangely relieved. “Let’s take him back,” he said, meeting Tomoyo eye to eye, “I think we all need to have a talk about today.” She nodded, and they began the long, slow process of trudging back to town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/629902885908578304/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-15-kien-rugastelo)
> 
> I'll be taking a hiatus to flesh out the remaining half of this story. I don't plan to take more than a week.


	16. The Dash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace of Swords Reversed

“So that’s why I could never find this place,” Fai remarked as he examined the wards Kurogane had placed around the room, “Clever.” He had attempted to scry for Kurogane’s location in the past, and the wards certainly explained why that had been unsuccessful. He had considered having Kurogane followed, or doing the following himself, but Fai had a hunch Kurogane would be able to sense him, and sending anyone else would have invited questions Fai would rather have not answered.

“Is that why you wanted to come here?” Tomoyo asked from her self-appointed watch at Kurogane’s side.

“I didn’t think it would be wise to have this conversation at the castle. You never know who might be listening. But these,” Fai tapped his finger to the ward gently and it shocked him in retaliation, leaving a scorch mark on the pad of his finger. Fai found he didn’t mind. “Should be sufficient for our purposes.”

“And what purposes would those be?” came Kurogane’s gruff voice at Tomoyo’s side.

“I’ll get to that in a moment,” Fai promised, “But first I want to establish that nothing we say here leaves this room.”

“And you expect me to believe that?” Kurogane asked as he pulled himself up to a sitting position.

“It is because I don’t want anyone at the castle to know that I decided to do this here,” Fai argued as if Kurogane was being deliberately obtuse. “I don’t have anyone I’d like to leak this information to. But you have contacts in your homeland, don’t you.” Kurogane didn’t counter that so Fai continued. “I want you to swear to me that what we learn here is something that we keep to the three of us, and just the three of us.”

Kurogane scoffed at that. “Are you sure you should be taking my word?”

“Tomoyo trusts you,” Fai pointed out, looking to Tomoyo briefly, who nodded her agreement. “That’s enough for me.”

Kurogane frowned like he thought Fai was luring him into a trap, but couldn’t quite figure out what it was, and for a moment, Fai thought he would refuse, but Kurogane never ceased to surprise. “Fine, you have my word. Now why are you here?”

“You used Time to bring me back, so the card that trapped me must have been Return, correct?” Fai again looked to Tomoyo who nodded. “And that means everything I saw actually happened in the past?”

“That’s right,” Tomoyo said.

Fai had thought as much, and he finally pulled up a chair and settled into it. “Here’s what I saw — ”

* * *

“So it would seem you and Yuui are brothers,” Tomoyo concluded.

“I’m willing to bet twins,” Fai elaborated. It was a sensible conclusion, and it would explain why he had been so readily accepted to take Yuui’s place in the contract.

“That would make sense,” Kurogane agreed. “It’s also in line with the theory that the cards were already sealed and that something is making them active again.”

“Or someone,” Fai continued. “But it still leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions.” He kept the thought of who to himself. He’d relayed what had happened in the Return up until the final glimpse of the past — whatever Ashura had to do with this, Fai intended to find out for himself. “You can see why I wanted to have this conversation here,” Fai added.

Kurogane couldn’t argue that. “So where does that leave us?”

The resulting silence didn’t stretch long before Tomoyo spoke up: “We continue as before. Making any changes now would only rouse suspicion, and we may lose whatever opportunity we have to resolve this. Until we have the advantage of having gathered all the cards, we should go on with the assumption that we are out-matched and make every effort to minimize loss.”

“I suppose you’re going to expect me to give him all the cards?” Kurogane asked, clearly not pleased at the prospect.

“If it comes down to it,” Tomoyo said. “Hopefully, we will have a better understanding later on so we will know whether we need to make that call or not.”

“I don’t like it,” Kurogane groused. “There’s still too much that we don’t know.”

“I agree,” Fai said. “But what can we do? Scrying has been unsuccessful, and Return takes too much power. We’re bound to be noticed if we keep using it.”

Tomoyo nodded. “My dream walking has also been unrevealing. We may be able to supplement it once we have the Dream, but it is possible,” she added, “That I haven’t seen anything because there is a force blocking me.”

Fai crossed his arms at that. He hadn’t been aware that Tomoyo had been having that particular difficulty. “In which case, the force needs to be counteracted if we want results.”

“Or overpowered,” Kurogane added, looking to Fai meaningfully. Of the three of them, it was clear that Fai had the most raw power.

Fai huffed a short breath out his nose, catching Kurogane’s meaning. He also knew that being that unsubtle would mean revealing himself to whoever was opposing them, and the fact that they were aware of such a thing. “It’s risky,” he hedged. They couldn’t account for the strength and abilities of a force they knew nearly nothing about.

“The whole damn thing is risky,” Kurogane argued, “But we can’t let a threat like that go unchecked.”

“How do you know we’re not the threat?” Fai countered without any heat. “Our knowledge of these cards is limited. For all we know, we’re upsetting the natural balance of things and creating the danger. Whoever this is may be trying to protect everyone from us.”

“We can’t completely discard that possibility,” Tomoyo agreed morosely, “Or that they at least believe that is the case.”

“Clow Reed wouldn’t know natural balance if it bit him on the ass,” Kurogane countered. “The damn things weren’t supposed to exist in the first place, but he made them anyway, and now they’re the ones causing trouble, or did you forget what happened with Erase and Power?”

“But if you didn’t know that,” Fai postulated. “If you didn’t know anything about any of this, what would you think was going on? What seems more likely: that we’re trying to reign in a long-dead magician’s magic, or that we’re out causing havoc with no regard to the consequences?” Kurogane’s scowl only deepened at that, and Fai considered the argument won. “As far as we are aware, there are two distinct obstacles which may or may not exist in fact: the first is whatever is causing the cards to become active again, which for all we know is the cards themselves, and the other is whatever is concealing the truth from us.”

“There is the chance that they could be one and the same,” Tomoyo added. “Or that there are additional actors who we have yet to notice.”

“Which is why I agree with Tomoyo,” Fai concluded, now facing Kurogane directly. “We play it by ear and err on the side of caution until we have more concrete information.”

Kurogane sighed at that. He didn’t like it. He would have much preferred that they take whatever it was head on and get it over with, but that wasn’t a strategy that would work if two out of the three of them doubted it was the correct thing to do. “Fine. Lay low, gather the cards, keep an open ear, and try to minimize casualties.”

With everyone in agreement, a short silence fell with none of them having any more to discuss. It was Fai who finally spoke up again, addressing Tomoyo as the first lights of dawn began to show beyond the window: “It’s late. We should head back before our absence causes alarm.”

“You go ahead,” Tomoyo offered with a smile. “I’d like to catch up with my cousin for a while.”

Fai didn’t have any reason to decline and so left shortly after, and when Tomoyo looked Kurogane’s way expectantly, Kurogane huffed out a short sigh. “Am I that obvious?”

“Only because I know you,” Tomoyo said, aiming to pacify, “What’s on your mind?”

“When I called him the Unlucky Prince, I didn’t think he’d turn out to actually  _ be _ one of them,” Kurogane admitted with just a little bit of awkwardness. “Thought he was just unfortunate enough to share a name.”

“There was such a thing?” Tomoyo asked, and Kurogane was a little surprised at that.

“You didn’t know?”

“The Prince doesn’t seem to remember anything before a certain time,” Tomoyo told him after only a little hesitation. She could trust Kurogane to be discreet.

Kurogane’s frown deepened. “So it’s like that, huh?” It explained why Fai seemed even more lost than he was regarding the cards. Still, for Fai to have absolutely no knowledge of the notorious unlucky princes put Kurogane ill at ease, and Tomoyo must have sensed that because she was peering at him with kind eyes. “Are you aware of what occurred the last time the cards were active?”

“I was told that if the information was required, that my dreams would deliver them,” Tomoyo informed him.

That was just like Kendappa to pull that kind of shit, Kurogane thought, but he didn’t understand why his mother would agree to such a tactic. Kurogane was above playing such games. “They originally surfaced in a country that was known as Valeria at the time. You may have learned about it as the AUZ.”

“The Autonomous Uninhabitable Zone?” Tomoyo clarified. It had shown up in her studies, but world history wasn’t a hobby of Tomoyo’s so she didn’t research any further into it than was required to pass the class.

Kurogane nodded. “I lost my memory of my time there as well, so I can’t be certain of what really happened, but the official story is that there had been some form of industrial accident. It wiped out the entire nation and everyone in it and then some, leaving it a desert wasteland. That was 17 years ago.”

“And that was when you came home,” Tomoyo recalled. “You think it had something to do with the cards.”

“Nothing grows there,” Kurogane asserted. “Even research teams can’t last very long before they’re forced to retreat. It’s as if something had sucked even the potential for life from that space permanently. It’s not natural.” After the incident, Kurogane had kept updated on the AUZ almost obsessively. There had to be some clue about why or how the cards had contributed to such a disaster, and how he could prevent such a cataclysm again. “Before that, though, Valeria had shut down.

“Early in the 1990s, they began to minimize relations with other countries except for their direct neighbors. By 1998 they had completely closed their borders and issued a media blackout. You couldn’t get any verifiable information about what was happening there outside the country. There were rumors about disappearances — people just vanishing without a trace. Some people thought the ruling party had become tyrannical and the citizens were fleeing. Some people thought they were being put into camps. Some people thought that the rumors were baseless and everything was fine — that they had just entered into an isolationist period due to internal politics.

“At that time, the royal family consisted of the King and Queen, a Crown Prince, and two younger Princes — twins born in 1989 by the name of Fai and Yuui. The period of increasing isolationism and the birth of the twins was close enough that the more superstitious started calling them the Unlucky Princes. Apparently, there was some support for the name astrologically as well, which only gave those people more reason to think that somehow the twins were at fault.

“So with the timing of the disaster, the location, the cards, and now knowing there were a Fai and Yuui involved,” Kurogane trailed off.

Tomoyo understood instantly. “It’s too much to be a coincidence,” she concluded sadly. “Oh, Fai.”

“There’s something else,” Kurogane added. “The Queen of Valeria at the time was Ashura’s sister.”

“Which explains why Fai may have fallen to his care,” Tomoyo reasoned.

“What it doesn’t explain,” Kurogane continued, “Is why Fai never learned about any of this. As next in line for the throne, he should know his own history, and the history of what had been his land’s neighbor. Hell, Galat was right at the edge of it and that’s why it’s a desert today.”

“Which means either the Prince is hiding how much he knows,” Tomoyo concluded, “Or the King has deliberately kept him in the dark.”

“Exactly.”

Tomoyo weighed that information for a time. She was a discerning person by nature, and she wanted to believe that Fai was as genuine with her as she had felt he was, but the chance that she was being fooled could not be ignored. She had not had the opportunity to meet Ashura and so she could not make an assessment of him, but Fai seemed to love and trust him. The thought that he was being manipulated to some end by possibly the only family he had left left a pain in Tomoyo’s heart. “I would like to try to get a better idea of how much of this he is aware of.”

“Can you handle it?” Kurogane asked neutrally. Was she tactical enough to not give herself away? Would her heart even permit such a thing?

“I must,” Tomoyo decided. “If the disappearances here in Celes are any indication, we are heading towards the same disaster once again. We cannot allow such a thing to happen.”

Kurogane sighed at that. “So those rumors are true as well.”

“They are,” Tomoyo confirmed. “You saw the result of that in Galat.”

Kurogane recalled the clothes and accessories in the road, the vehicles that had continued under their own power, the exhausted fires and water damage from unattended appliances. It was as if every living thing had vanished in the blink of an eye. With effort, he kept some emotional distance from the reality of the event — that all the people that lived there were most likely now dead. “There couldn’t be a mundane explanation for what happened there.” If that was what had happened in Valeria, then maybe the shutdown had not been for self defense, but in a vain effort to keep such a thing from spreading to other lands — a disaster blamed on a single pair of children, no older than Kurogane himself had been at the time.

“There is another thing I don’t understand,” Tomoyo murmured. “If you had been present and had indeed caught those cards, why haven’t you appeared in any dreams or visions of the past?”

Kurogane blinked owlishly. “He said I turned up in Return.”

“No,” Tomoyo recalled, “They talked about an unnamed male who had managed to catch a card instead of them. Fai didn’t see you or even mention a name.”

Kurogane thought back on that part of the conversation and found Tomoyo was right. “Do you think someone’s blocking that, too?”

“If so, that implies that whoever it is can either manipulate the cards or can overpower them,” Tomoyo reasoned. “And that they have reason to conceal your involvement.”

“Could it be the cards themselves?” Kurogane asked. What he had heard of the incident with Mirror implied that the cards had some degree of free will.

“Possibly, but I can’t understand why they might do such a thing,” Tomoyo admitted.

Kurogane thought on that, glancing out the window to spot a familiar form on the rooftop across the road. “The Dash,” he remarked.

Tomoyo smiled, rising from her seat. “You go get it. I should be heading back anyway.”

Kurogane got up as well. It wasn’t as if he had anything else to discuss. “You be careful.”

“You, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/630489613395492864/cardcaptor-fai-chapter-16-kien-rugastelo)


End file.
